The Problem With Mikos
by Raseleane
Summary: What happens when you mix two fan girls, Inuyasha, and Kenshin? Chaos, confusion, comedy, and a whole lot of trouble.(finished)
1. Day 1

      _The Problem With Mikos_

       DAY ONE-The Arrival

            "Kenshin-san[1]!"  Yuzumi shouted.

            "Inuyasha-sama[2]!" Sakura shouted back.

            "Kenshin-san!'

            "Inuyasha-sama!"

            "I'm telling you Kenshin-san is better than little dog-boy!"

            "And I'm telling you Inuyasha-sama is better than...."

                                                            *DING* 

            The microwave dinged before Sakura could finish what she was saying.

            "Ooooh, noodles!"  They shouted in unison as they frolicked toward the microwave.  Yuzumi was the self proclaimed Kenshin no Miko[3] and was staying the night at the house of her friend, the beloved Inuyasha no Miko, Sakura.  Yuzumi and Sakura were constantly arguing over who is the better bishonen[4], Inuyasha or Kenshin.  That is, they're arguing when they aren't eating noodles or watching Anime.

            "Hey, Yuzumi, let's watch Inuyasha while we eat."  Sakura proposed with a grin.

            "No.  Let's watch Rurouni Kenshin."  Yuzumi countered as Sakura made the begging puppy-dog face, complete with tears.  "Okay, we'll compromise, and watch Samurai X.  It has Kenshin-san and lots of cool fight scenes."

            "Okay.  Though, it doesn't have Inuyasha-sama." Sakura sullenly agreed.

            They walked out of Sakura's kitchen, with their noodles, and rushed toward the TV room.  Yuzumi picked up the movie and headed toward the DVD player.  She popped in the DVD, went to the language setting, set it to the subtitle version, and then started it. 

            "Itada kimasu[5]!"  Yuzumi and Sakura shouted in unison.   Sakura took a seat on the floor, in front of the TV and began to sullenly eat her noodles; while Yuzumi took a seat next to Sakura and began to eat with a huge grin on her face.

            After several hours of Samurai X, and much crying, due to watching the death of Tomoe, Sakura insisted on watching Inuyasha, "Okay.  We've watched three consecutive Samurai X DVDs; now we are going to watch Inuyasha!"

            "Alright., fine, Have it your way."  Yuzumi sullenly gave in, as Sakura began to dance around singing "Go Inuyasha-sama".

            She grabbed the movie off the floor and put it in the DVD player, selected the subtitles, cranked up the volume, and returned to her seat.  "Yay!  Inuyasha-sama is the best!"  Sakura excitedly shouted as the opening theme started.  Meanwhile, Yuzumi sat there and rolled her eyes.

            Around two o'clock in the morning, Yuzumi decided that it would be best for the two of them to get some sleep, "C'mon Sakura, enough Inuyasha for one night; we do have work tomorrow, no da[6]?"

            "But, I wanna watch Inuyasha."  Sakura whined, as she reluctantly went to remove the DVD.

            "Hurry up, Sakura."  Yuzumi impatiently stated.

            "Yeah, yeah.  Hey! Let's listen to the Inuyasha sound track while we sleep!"  Sakura joyously proposed.

            "Okay, but we have to listen to the Rurouni Kenshin sound track too."  Yuzumi countered.

            Sakura walked over to the CDs, and put them into the CD player.  Then she grabbed some blankets and a pillow; and tossed them at Yuzumi.  She grabbed some sleeping equipment for herself and lay down on the floor.  "Oyasumi nasai[7], Yuzumi."

            "Oyasumi nasai."

            Both Yuzumi and Sakura stretched out on the floor and fell asleep while listening to the music.  As the night wore on, a loud bang woke Sakura up, "What?  Oh, it's just a stupid thunderstorm.  Kuso!  I was having a good dream too.  GRRRR!  Oh well, I might as well try to go back to sleep." *Grin* "Hee, hee.  Perhaps I'll have the dream again."  Sakura rolled over and began to drift off again.

                                                            *CRASH*

            "Kuso[8]!!  What now?!"  Sakura exclaimed irritably as she turned toward her TV and saw a very confused looking Kenshin and a none to happy Inuyasha.  _No way_!  She thought as she quickly went to where Yuzumi was sleeping.  _Man how can she sleep through all of this?  "Hey, Wake up!  Yuzumi!"  Sakura shouted as she violently shook Yuzumi._

            "What the hell?"  A sleepy Yuzumi asked.

            "Just look over by the TV."

            "This better be g...." Yuzumi began until she saw the guys standing there, at which point she blinked a few times, "Oro[9]?"

            "Excuse me, but could you tell me where I am, and what happened?  Please?"  Kenshin politely asked.

            "Kuso!  Where in the seven hells am I?  And what in all the hells happened?"  Inuyasha rather angrily inquired.

            At this point all Yuzumi could do was sit on the floor and blink.  Sakura, noticed her friends stupor, hit her over the head and asked, "Does this hurt?"

            "Oww!  Why you!"  Yuzumi shouted and proceeded to punch Sakura in the arm.

            "Well that means we aren't dreaming," Sakura stated with a huge smile, and a slight wince, "If this isn't a dream that means they're really here."  Sakura got up and walked over to Inuyasha, respectfully bowed, and said, "Konnichiwa.  Watashi wa Inuyasha no miko desu.[10]"

            "Uh............" Inuyasha paused and blinked in surprise, ".......I have a miko.....?"

            "Yes.  Just let me know if you need anything, anything at all."  Sakura stated happily.

            "Humans."  Inuyasha sighed.

            Following Sakura's lead, Yuzumi walked over to Kenshin, bowed, and said, "Konnichiwa, Kenshin-san.  Watashi wa Kenshin no miko desu.  Please feel free to let me know if there is anything I can do for you."

            "Oro.......?  Um....I don't really need a miko...... but thanks for the offer."  Kenshin said a little uncomfortably.

            "Okay if you are my miko, then tell me what the hell I'm doing here, and where I am."  Inuyasha demanded.

            "Well, I don't really know Inuyasha-sama.  As far as I can tell a lightning bolt must have hit my TV, thus transporting you and Kenshin here."  Sakura guessed.

            "......TV?"  Inuyasha and Kenshin asked in a confused manner.

            "Yeah, you know that thing behind you."  Yuzumi said as she pointed to Sakura's 75in TV.

            "Where in all the hells am I?" Inuyasha said to himself.

            "Oro...........?"  Kenshin stated.

            "Well, Inuyasha-sama.  You're in America and the year is 2003."  Sakura answered.

            "America....?  What's that?"  Inuyasha asked.

            "You must be mistaken the year is1875."  Kenshin insisted.

            "Who cares what year it is?  I want to know _where I am."  Inuyasha muttered to himself._

            "Actually, Kenshin-san, in _your_ world the year is 1875, but in _our_ world the year is 2003; and, Inuyasha, America is a country several thousand miles away from Japan, no da."  Yuzumi supplied.

            "No, I don't know.  If you could direct me back to my own world I won't have to hurt you.  Besides I need to collect the pieces of the Shikon no Tama[11]; and I doubt there are any of them in this world."  Inuyasha declared with obvious annoyance.

            "I would be more than happy to, but...." Sakura began.

            "But?  There's always 'but' when humans are concerned.  Why not just send me back home?"  Inuyasha demanded.

            "As I was saying, Inuyasha-sama, I don't know how to send you back."

            "Worthless human girl!"  Inuyasha ranted, and looked like he might use his sankontetsou[12] on Sakura.

            "Hey, you should be nice to these ladies.  It's not their fault we got here."  Kenshin said to try and calm the extremely irritated Inuyasha.

            "This kind of thing _always_ happens when humans are involved."  Inuyasha declared, hotly.

            ""Why don't we fix you some food?"  Yuzumi and Sakura proposed.  Kenshin and Inuyasha are _very_ good at fighting, and to piss either one of them off means death.  Thus, Sakura and Yuzumi decided it was best to keep the peace.  Otherwise Sakura might no longer have a house.

            "Do you have those Ramen noodle things?  Those are _good_!"  Inuyasha, who was suddenly happy, asked.

            :"Of course we do.  What would the world be without Ramen noodles?  Take a seat and I'll go cook some for you."  Sakura delightedly replied as she danced off to the kitchen.

            "Would you like anything Kenshin-san?"  Yuzumi inquired.

            "Uh...No I'm fine thanks.  I can make food for myself."  Kenshin politely declined.

            "Please?  I can make Ramen noodles, Macaroni, rice, corn, sandwiches......."  Yuzumi said as she began to list what she hoped was an appetizing array of foods.

            "No, really, you don't need to trouble yourself."

            "It's no trouble, besides I'm you're faithful miko."

            Suddenly, Sakura walked into the room wearing a slightly short skirted waitress' outfit and holding a tray of Ramen and saki.

            _Oh god no. Yuzumi thought, __why is she wearing that?  Wait a minute.  Where the hell did she get the saki?_

  "Here you are Inuyasha-sama.  I didn't know what you wanted to drink, so I just brought saki.  I hope that's all right."  Sakura stated.

            "All right!"  Inuyasha said as he began to stuff his mouth.

            "Just let me know if you need anything else."

            Yuzumi looked at Sakura, then at Inuyasha, and then glared at Kenshin.  She decided that the only way to get Kenshin to cooperate was to make him uncomfortable and thus allow her to serve as his miko.  So she positioned herself on the floor, facing Kenshin in a way that allowed her to glare at Kenshin and make him squirm.

            "Oro...?"  Kenshin said with a sweat drop, "Is something wrong?"  He asked Yuzumi.

            "I'm not stopping until you let me serve you as a miko should."  Yuzumi replied, flatly.

            "Oro...?  Okay ... you can....um.... get me some Ramen noodles and saki, if you want."  Kenshin relented.

            "Yay!  Find a good place to sit and I'll be right back Kenshin-san."  She said as she ran off into the kitchen.

            "Mey mring me mome more saki, too."  Inuyasha demanded with a mouth full of noodles.

            Yuzumi stopped and glared at Inuyasha, "I'm not _your_ miko.  Go get it yourself!"

            "Yuzumi, how dare you speak to Inuyasha-sama in such a manner?!"  Sakura angrily scolded Yuzumi.

            Yuzumi began to spasmodically twitch, "What are you implying?  Are you trying to say that dog boy is better than Kenshin-san?"  She stated with a cold smile.

            "Who are you calling a dog boy?"  Inuyasha asked while Yuzumi and Sakura ignored him.

            "You have to ask?  Isn't it obvious that Inuyasha-sama is ten times better than the little sword swinging child?"  Sakura said with an equally cold smile.

            "Child?  Oro...?"  Kenshin asked as he was also ignored.

            "Kenshin-san a _child_?"  Yuzumi inquired with her voice raising several octaves. "Kenshin-san is not a child, you..."

            "I do believe Kenshin is waiting for that Ramen and saki.  You wouldn't want him to wait too long, would you?'  Sakura interrupted.

            "Oh.  I'm sorry Kenshin-san. I'll get your food right away!"  Yuzumi hurriedly explained as she ran off to the kitchen.

            "I'll get you more saki, Inuyasha-sama.  Besides, she doesn't know where I keep the stuff.  I'll be right back."  Sakura rushed into the kitchen as Yuzumi was tearing open a package of Ramen.  Meanwhile Kenshin and Inuyasha just stared after them.

            "What was that all about?"  Inuyasha asked.

            "I have now idea that I don't."  Kenshin said as Inuyasha looked at him funny because of Kenshin's speech mannerisms.

            "Let me show you where the saki is hidden, and the chopsticks are in the top drawer, next to the sink."  Sakura offered.

            "Where did you get the saki anyway?"  Yuzumi asked suspiciously.

            "Sore wa himitsu desu[13]."

            "Oh no you don't!  That isn't going to work on me."

            "Well...um....shouldn't you check the Ramen?"

            "Nice try.  You are going to tell me where you got the saki, and you are going to tell me right now.  Got it?"

            "Fine.  Take all the fun out of this why don't you"

            "I will.  Now quit stalling!"

            "Okay, okay.  Sheesh.  You know that little Japanese restaurant on Montgomery ST.?  Well, they also sell sake, in bulk."

            "Oh."  Yuzumi began, then she paused and blinked for a second, "Wait a minute.  You buy it in _bulk?"_

            "Uh....well...um....yeah."  Sakura responded with her hand behind her head.

            "And just how long have you been buying saki in bulk?"

            "Oh, about a year now."

            Yuzumi arched an eyebrow and began to twitch, "And you never told me?"

            "Eh, he, he. funny thing that."

                                                            *SIZZLE* *SIZZLE*

            "Kuso!  The Ramen!"  Yuzumi ran over to the stove to see the Ramen boiling over.  As Yuzumi was tending to the noodles, Sakura got some more saki and walked out of the kitchen before Yuzumi could question her further.

            "Sorry it took so long, Inuyasha-sama.  Yuzumi just had to question me about where and when I got the saki."  Sakura apologized to Inuyasha.

            "Mhy mould mhe" Inuyasha paused to swallow his mouth full, "ask such silly questions about saki?"  He wondered as he contentedly finished off the Ramen.

            "In this country saki isn't that easy to come by."  Sakura responded, "When you are done eating, I will show you to my room and you can sleep there.  I'll sleep on the couch."

            "I'll just go sleep in a tree."

            Sakura began to leave the room and get some sleeping things for the guys when, Yuzumi walked in, "Yuzumi, Kenshin can sleep in the garage, or my sister's room."  She informed Yuzumi.

            "The garage, or the construction site that your sister calls a room?!!"  Yuzumi remarked, "I'll find a mattress for him and he can sleep out here."

            "I just sleep sitting up with my sword, so I don't need a futon.  Thanks any way."  Kenshin explained.

            "No, I insist.  As your miko I must make sure you are comfortable.  You can put your sword in the hall.  Then you won't have to sleep with it."  Yuzumi kindly informed him.

            "I really don't want to be a bother.  I can sleep right here."

"Are you sure you want to sleep in the tree?  It has a tendency to get quite could outside.  You can have my bed, I don't mind really.  I am your miko, so it is my duty to make sure you have anything you need."  She finished with a smile.

            "Whatever."  Inuyasha replied.

            "Kenshin-san, please reconsider.  You can sleep anywhere you want."  Yuzumi pleaded.

            "Well.....if you insist."  Kenshin gave in.

            "I'll go get some futons and blankets."  Sakura stated.

            "Wait one minute!  Where did you get futons?!"  Yuzumi asked.

            "Sore wa himitsu desu."  Sakura said as she made a run for it.

            "Hey, get back here!"  Yuzumi commanded as she chased after Sakura.

            "Those are some strange girls that they are."  Kenshin said, "And here I thought it was just Kaoru."  He added under his breath.

            "They're humans."  Inuyasha indifferently stated.

            "Sakura, when, where, and how did you get futons?!"  Yuzumi inquired of Sakura.

            "Sore wa himitsu desu."  She replied, while pulling them out of her closet.

            "You know that doesn't work on me.  Tell me, now."

            "Fine.  The boyfriend of a cousin of a cousin of a friend of a friend of one of my friends in my church brought them back from Japan.  He's a missionary there and gave them to me when he heard that I wanted to go to Japan."  Sakura supplied.

            "What else do you have that you haven't told me about?'

            "Nothing."  She said, a little too quickly.

            "Sakura."  Yuzumi said in an annoyed fashion.

            "I can't tell you because it would spoil your birthday gift."

            "Oh in that case, never mind."  Yuzumi gave up and she helped Sakura carry the sleeping stuff.

            "I'll put our stuff in my parent's room, and you can put that in the garage."  Sakura told Yuzumi.

            "I'm putting it in the living room!"  Yuzumi insisted as she walked toward the living room.  She walked in to find that the boys had finished their food.

            "Here, Kenshin-san, just tell me where you want me to put these."

            "I can take care of them."  Kenshin replied.

            "Then I'll take your dishes."  Yuzumi said as she set down the futon, and took the dishes to the kitchen, and at the same time Sakura walked into the living room.

            "Did you get Kenshin's things set up in the garage?"  Sakura teased.

            "He's sleeping in the living room!!"  Yuzumi rose to the bait.

            "Hee, hee.  Inuyasha-sama, if you are done I'll take your things and direct you to the room."  Sakura said as she began to take Inuyasha's dishes, "If you'll just follow me."

            She and Inuyasha left the room just as Yuzumi entered to make sure Kenshin was doing okay.  "Oyasumi, again" Yuzumi said as she rolled her eyes.

            Sakura left the dishes in the kitchen and directed Inuyasha to her room.  "You can sleep in here.  I'll be in the room across from this one, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.  Oyasumi nasai, Inuyasha-sama.'

            "Eh."  Inuyasha simply replied.

            Sakura left, and walked into the room she and Yuzumi were going to share, and found Yuzumi there.  "Oi[14].  What a night.  What time is it?" She asked Yuzumi.

            "Four O'clock in the morning.  What are we going to do about work?"

            "We could call in sick.  I don't mind working while I'm tired, but what are we going to do about Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin?   If we went to work we couldn't leave them here, and we can't bring them along.  At least my parents won't be back until after tomorrow."

            "I guess we'll have to call in sick, won't we?  What would we do during the time we are supposed to be working?  I can't go home.  My parents don't work tomorrow, and they wouldn't approve of me skipping work, for any reason."  She replied as a memory of the last time she skipped work flashed through her head.

            "Wouldn't approve?  Your parents?  That's an understatement.  Well…we could stay here, or......I know!  Remember that Japanese festival that we couldn't go to because we had work?  We could go to that.  The boys won't mind; after all, most people there will just think that they are either cosplaying, or getting really involved with the festival.  We also need to work out how to get them back home, so after the festival we could come back here and ask the Genius Inc.  Then, we might be able to figure out how to get them back."

            "Sounds like a plan to me."  Yuzumi agreed as the two of them began to drift off into dream land.

  


* * *

[1] 'Mr.' or 'Sir'; suffix showing respect

[2] 'Lord'; suffix showing great respect

[3] 'miko' is a priestess an 'no' means 'of'; Kenshin/Inuyasha no miko= priestess of Kenshin/Inuyasha

[4] good looking boy; 'shonen' means boy, 'bish' good looking 

[5] Let's eat; this is said before a meal in Japan

[6] you know

[7] good night; can be shortened to just oyasumi

[8] all purpose sear word; usually translated as 'damn'

[9] verbal sweat drop; can be translated to 'huh'

[10]Hello, I am the priestess of Inuyasha

[11] Jewel of Four Souls

[12] soul reaping iron claw; one of Inuyasha's attacks

[13] That is a secret.

[14] A term for slight exasperation; Japanese equivalent to 'oh brother'

**Author's ravings:**  Yay, I've started my first fanfic ever.  I'm kinda, sorta, not really proud of myself.  I finally stared a fic.  It's probably not very well written, but it's my first try.  Any input is welcome and most appreciated.


	2. Day 2

                                            DAY TWO- The Chaos (part I)

            *Yawn* "Nine O' clock.  I guess I should go make some breakfast for everyone."  Yuzumi sleepily stated.  She got up, got dressed, and walked toward the kitchen.  Now Yuzumi isn't the greatest of cooks, she can't cook much more than Ramen and Macaroni, but she looked in all of the cabinets to see if there was anything she might be able to make.  _Ahhh.  Bisquick.  That should be easy to make.  I mean how hard can pancakes be?  Besides, the directions look easy enough.  She said to herself._

            She then rummaged through the kitchen looking for the ingredients and utensils.  _Lets see.  First stir in milk and eggs, but do not over stir.  How can you over stir something?  She read.  Yuzumi vigorously stirred the mixture, and spilled half of it on the counter.  __That was pretty easy.  Now I just put a little bit in the pan and let it cook.  Yuzumi said as she completed the action._

            A few minutes later, "Alright now's the tricky part.  I have to flip it so that it cooks on both sides."  She slid the spatula under the pancake, picked it up, tossed it back into the pan, and it bounced out.  "Oops. Eh he. I'll just put that back into the pan.  No one will know."  Yuzumi managed to get the pancake into the pan and waited for it to finish.

            After tentatively watching the pancake, Yuzumi decided that it was done. _That wasn't so hard.  It's a perfect pancake.  Hmmm.  I better taste it to make sure._  She walked over to the silverware drawer and took out a butter knife.  She then buttered the pancake, and tried to cut it.  The only problem with this was that the pancake seemed to have the same consistency as rubber.  "Oh no.  This pancake is like a rubber band."  Yuzumi despaired as she began to frantically cut the pancake, but it fell off of the counter and bounced across the floor.  "Hey that's cool.  It bounces just like one of those bouncy ball things."  She then ran over to the pancake and bounced it around for a few minutes.  "Alright enough of that.  I guess I should go wake up Sakura, and get her to make breakfast."

            Yuzumi grabbed a pot, a spatula, and a pot lid.  She proceeded to put the pot on her head, tied the lid to her chest, and brandished the spatula like a sword.  Next, she tentatively went back to the room that she and Sakura were sharing.  Yuzumi tried to wake up Sakura, but nothing worked.  "Geezz.  She says I'm a heavy sleeper.  Even opening one of her eyes and shining a flash light in it didn't work.  What can I do....That's it!"  Yuzumi excitedly thought.  "Sakura FIRE!!!"  She yelled.

            "What?  Where?"  Sakura woke up and excitedly asked.

            "Just kidding."  Yuzumi said, with an innocent smile.

            At this point Sakura, who was NOT a morning person, began to throw everything she could get her hands on at Yuzumi, and repeatedly shouted, "How dare you wake me up for no reason!"

            "I need your help making breakfast for Kenshin-san and Inuyasha."  Yuzumi, who was glad she put the armor on before waking her up, desperately stated.

            Sakura suddenly stopped, "Whaaa?"

            "Don't you remember?  Last night Kenshin-san and Inuyasha were somehow transported here."  Yuzumi reminded Sakura.

            "Oh yeah.  I remember now.  Let's go make breakfast for them"

            They proceeded to walk to the kitchen, but Sakura stopped and stared at the mess before her, "What happened?"

            "I was trying to make pancakes.  Watch."  Yuzumi, who had the same expression as Lilo in Lilo and Stitch, picked up her pancake and bounced it across the room.

            Sakura looked at the pancake, then at Yuzumi, next at the mess on the counter, turned, and headed back to bed.

            "Waiiiiiit!"  Yuzumi said as she blocked Sakura's way.  "We have to make breakfast for the guys."

            "Oh alright.  I'll make waffles since you used up all of the Bisquick."

            "You have waffles?  But I looked in the freezer and there weren't any."  Yuzumi asked in a worried voice.

            "Everything in this house, except pancakes, macaroni, and Ramen, is made from scratch.  Your job is to clean up the mess you made while I make the waffles.  What kind should I make?  I can make blueberry, peanut butter, chocolate chip, plain, strawberry, and honey nut.  And you can take off the armor now."

            "Umm...I don't know."  Yuzumi said as she took off the pot and lid, put the dishes in the dish washer, and scraped all of the batter into the bowl.  "How about both plain and chocolate chip?"  Yuzumi asked as she threw the bowl with the batter at the ceiling.  Much to Sakura's astonishment, the batter stuck to the ceiling and held the bowl there with it.  "There all clean."

            Sakura looked at Yuzumi, who reminded her of Grr from Invader Zim, and rubbed her temples.  "Yuzumi, clean that off the ceiling, and clean it up properly."  Yuzumi looked at her with utter disgust.

            As Yuzumi went to get a step ladder, Sakura pulled out the waffle iron, put oil on it, and let it heat up.  Then she got out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, milk, eggs, and butter.  Yuzumi returned with the step ladder and glared at Sakura.  "I guess I should probably triple the recipe."  Sakura said to herself.

            "I guess.  It's not like I can cook."  Yuzumi said in a jealous tone, as she began to scrape the batter off the ceiling.

            Sakura neatly poured the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a sifter, and sifted it.  She set the flour mixture aside and carefully combined the milk, eggs, and butter.  "See Yuzumi?  It's not that hard to cook, and I'm not making the same mess you did."  Sakura taunted Yuzumi.

            "Shut the hell up."  Yuzumi said as she climbed down from the ladder.

            "There should be some orange juice in the refrigerator.  Poor some for everyone."  Sakura told Yuzumi as she added the flour mixture to the eggs, milk, and butter.

            "Okay......Sakura!  The waffle thingy is smoking!"  Yuzumi exclaimed.

            "Oh good.  That means that it is warm enough.  Just in time too."  Sakura calmly stated.  She took the batter over to the iron and began pouring the batter into it.  "Well now all we have to do is wait for these to cook."

            "I thought that when things were smoking in a kitchen it means something bad."  Yuzumi muttered to herself.  "Hey we can play wall tennis!"

            "That's great Yuzumi, but we don't have any rackets...."  Sakura began.

            "Sure we do."  Yuzumi joyously interrupted, and held up the spatula she was using earlier.  "See?"

            "Right... but we don't have a ball either."

            Yuzumi held up the pancake.

            "I thought you threw that out."

            "I had a feeling it would come in handy."  Yuzumi stated with a smile.

            The waffle iron began to smoke again and Sakura ran over to it and removed four perfect waffles.  "Now for the next batch."  She got the next batch put into the iron, garbed a spatula, and joined Yuzumi in a game of wall tennis.

            Twenty minutes later, Sakura and Yuzumi finished the breakfast preparations.  Inuyasha and Kenshin walked into the kitchen to see what smelled so good.

            "Hey food."  Inuyasha happily stated.

            "I hope you didn't go to a lot of trouble."  Kenshin humbly replied.

            "Oh no Kenshin-san, it was no trouble at all."  Yuzumi declared.

            "Yeah no trouble for you, considering I did the work."  Sakura muttered.  "Inuyasha-sama, you can sit here and I'll get you a plate of waffles."

            "A plate of what?"  Inuyasha suspiciously asked.

            "These."  Sakura said as she set a plate of them on the table.

            "Kenshin-san you can sit here, and I'll bring you some waffles too."  Yuzumi said.

            Inuyasha and Kenshin looked at each other, and then sat on the floor around the table.

            "I think your table is a little high."  Kenshin politely stated.

            "That's because in this country we sit on chairs to eat."  Sakura said.

            "Oh."  Inuyasha and Kenshin stated in unison.  They got up off the floor and sat on the chairs.  Inuyasha then looked at the table and asked, "Where are the chopsticks?"

            "Well, in America we don't actually use chopsticks.  Sakura and I do because we want to live in Japan.  Instead here one uses a fork."  Yuzumi said as she held up a fork and pointed to it.

            "This is a strange place, that it is."  Kenshin remarked.  "And how do you use a fork?"

            "Like this."  Sakura said as she demonstrated.  Inuyasha and Kenshin looked on and seemed to be confused.  Both of them gave several attempts to use the fork, and failed, miserably.

            "The hell with fo....whatevers."  Inuyasha angrily stated.  He then picked up the pancake and ate it with his hands.  Kenshin looked at Inuyasha and followed his example.  Sakura and Yuzumi took their seats, looked at their forks, shrugged, and began to eat with their hands too.

            As they were eating, Sakura decided that it would be a good idea to tell the boys that they will be going to a festival.  "By the way, Inuyasha-sama, Kenshin, there's a festival today, and since Yuzumi and I won't be going to work, we thought that we would bring you guys along."

            "Sounds okay to me."  Kenshin said.

            "What about sending me home?!"  Inu-yasha heatedly asked.

            "We will, but we thought that you might like to have some fun.  Besides we still need to figure out how you got here."  Sakura said as she walked over to the phone.  "Yuzumi I'll call Mel, and then you call your boss.  Remember to act sick."  She told Yuzumi as she dialed her boss's number.

            "No problem.  I can't cook like you, but I can act better than you."  Yuzumi, who was still a little miffed about Sakura's superior cooking skills, stated.

Sakura stuck out her tongue as Mel answered the phone.  She then affected a weak, sickly voice and said, "Hey Mel, I'm not going to be able to work today.  I caught some kind of bug and currently have a fever I'm sorry. …… Yes I'll make sure to drink lots of liquids. …….. Thanks."  Sakura then hung up the phone.  "She says to get better and take as much time off as I need."

"A fever was a good idea 'cause you didn't sound all that sick.  I'll call my work now."  Yuzumi picked up the phone and dialed her work.  When her manager answered the phone, she mimicked the voice of someone with the stomach flu.  "I won't be in today.  I caught the flu. …….. Okay, bye."  With that she hung up the phone.  "Damn bastards.  They said don't be sick too long 'cause we are going to need you next week.  They could have said 'get better' or 'we wish you well', but no instead it's 'we need you to make us money and we don't care if you drop dead as long as you are making us money'."

"That's why I don't work in a grocery store, Yuzumi.  Mel actually cares about her employees.  Well I'm going to take a shower and put on a change of cloths.  Yuzumi, since I made the breakfast, you get to clean everything up."  Sakura ran into the bathroom and locked the door before Yuzumi could react to her command.  'It's a good thing it's Inuyasha who's here and not Miroku.'  She thought as she undressed and got ready for the shower.

            "Arrrrggggg.  One of these days Sakura!  Just you wait!  One of these days I'll make a great meal, and then YOU can clean everything up."  Yuzumi angrily declared as she began to clear the table.

            Meanwhile, Kenshin and Inuyasha just sat at the table.  "Did you understand any of that?"  Kenshin asked in an effort to make conversation with the strange dog-eared person next to him.

            "Nope.  What I really don't understand is how their boss can be in that little thing they picked up and talked into."  Inuyasha said deciding that of the humans he had ended up with, the samurai was the most sensible.

            "I don't understand half the things in this world, that I don't."  Kenshin agreed.

            When Yuzumi had finished the dishes and cleaning everything up, she got an idea for revenge.  "Kenshin-san, Inuyasha I'll be right back, so just stay there."  She informed Kenshin and Inuyasha with a sly smile.

            "Should we be scared?"  Kenshin inquired.

            "Nahh.  They're just humans." Inuyasha indifferently replied as he sipped his orange juice.

            Yuzumi quietly walked up to the bathroom door and carefully tried the knob.  _Locked.  She thought, __Come on Sakura, it's not like Miroku is here or anything.  Inuyasha and Kenshin won't do anything.  Yuzumi pulled out a paper clip and picked the lock.  She noiselessly entered the bathroom and gathered Sakura's clothes.  Then, she locked the door and left the bathroom.  Chuckling to herself, she went back into the kitchen, and set the blender up.  "This'll fix her.  Mwaahaaaahaa!" Yuzumi cackled evilly as she put Sakura's clothes into the blender and turned it on._

            Inuyasha and Kenshin just stared at her.  By this point Kenshin was just a little worried about how Sakura was going to react when she found out her clothes had been taken.  He pictured Korou's reaction, and shuddered.  Inuyasha, however, was slightly amused.  He wanted to see Sakura's reaction, though he hoped she wouldn't shout 'Inuyasha get my clothes back' like Kagome always did.  Then he remembered that she was his priestess, a thought that highly pleased him, and he could tell her to get them herself.

            After a few minutes, the blender began to make strange noises and smoke.  Then, it caught on fire.  "Aaaahhhh!  That's not good!"  Yuzumi exclaimed as she threw the blender out the window.  The blender landed in the pool and was thus extinguished.

            At the same time, Sakura finished her shower and noticed that her clothes had been taken.  _I'll bet Yuzumi took them.  She thought as she stormed out of the bathroom and into the kitchen.  "Kisama[1]!!!!!!!!!"  She shouted as she pointed at Yuzumi._

            Yuzumi looked out the window, then quickly at Sakura.  In her haste Sakura had forgotten that she was butt naked.  Yuzumi noticed this and looked at the guys.

            "Oro?"  Kenshin said with his eyes wide.

            "Hmmm.  She doesn't look exactly like Kagome, though there are similarities."  Inuyasha observed.

            Sakura looked down and realized that she had forgotten to put on a towel.  She grabbed two cans of cocoa and threw them at Inuyasha and Kenshin.  "You perverts!"  The cans hit the guys and knocked them out.  Sakura then ran into her room to put on some clothes.

            Yuzumi looked at the guys, then out the window at the smoke.  "Thank you sooooo much, Kenshin-san, Inuyasha.  Your sacrifice is not in vain."  She then went into the bathroom to take a shower of her own.  She took the precaution of locking the door and booby trapping it so Sakura couldn't pull a similar stunt.

            Once Yuzumi and Sakura were done with their morning preparations, and the guys finally regained consciousness, they got ready to leave.  "We should take my car."  Yuzumi declared.  "Your car, Sakura, will probably break down on the way there."  She added with a prideful grin.

            "You're right.  One of these days I'll get a better car, but I can't afford it right now."  Sakura agreed with a slightly sullen expression.  "Yuzumi you get your car started and I'll open my gates.  Then we can worry about getting the guys in there."  Sakura whispered to Yuzumi.

            "Right, somehow I don't think it's gonna be easy to get Inuyasha into the car."  Yuzumi agreed.  She got into her car and put the key into the ignition just as Sakura finished opening the gates.  She turned the key and started the engine.  It gave a beautiful roar, or purr for guys.

            "A yokai[2]!"  Inuyasha stated as he drew his sword.  The sound of the car starting reminded Inuyasha of some of the yokai he had encountered, so he was bent on destroying the car.  "Kaze no Kizu[3]!"

            "Yuzumi, get out of there!"  Sakura urgently shouted.

            Yuzumi saw what Inuyasha was doing and froze. _Not my car.  Not my car._

            Kenshin and Sakura noticed Yuzumi's state, and ran to the car, opened the door, and dragged her out of there just as the Kaze no Kizu hit the car.  The car exploded, and then evaporated.  Once the smoke cleared all that was left of the car, was a little scorch mark on the ground.  Yuzumi could only look at the burnt ground and cry "My car."

            "Inuyasha-sama, that wasn't a yokai.  A car is something you ride in.  Think of a bicycle that's covered like a wagon and you use a special form of magic to make it go forward really fast."  Sakura explained as best she could.  She knew Inuyasha, and maybe Kenshin for that matter, wouldn't understand how the engine worked, so she just thought magic would suffice.

            "Oh, um, oops?"  Inuyasha said.

            "Magic?  This thing doesn't really work with magic, does it?"  Kenshin whispered to Sakura.

            "No, but it's the best explanation I could come up with.  Where Inuyasha-sama is from, magic does exists, so at least he'll accept magic as an explanation to how it works.  It's really hard to explain how a car works, unless you know about batteries and things, so just pretend to believe in magic and take my word for it."  She whispered back.

            "Okay."  Kenshin said.

            "Well, I guess we have no other choice.  Everyone get in my car."  Sakura sullenly declared.

            Everyone followed her and loaded up into her car, everyone except Inuyasha.

            "It's not gonna eat me is it?"  Inuyasha suspiciously asked.

            "No, Inuyasha-sama.  You ride in it.  The car isn't alive."  Sakura said in a coxing manner.

            "Alright, but if I get eaten I'm sending you to hell."  Inuyasha dubiously relented.

            "Who's the child now?"  Yuzumi said with a hateful look.  Instead of replying, Sakura hit her over the head.  "Oh."  Yuzumi sullenly said.

Yuzumi and Kenshin got in the back seat, and Inuyasha sat in front with Sakura.  Sakura put the key into the ignition, and turned it.

                                                *VRRRRR* *VRRRRR*

            Nothing happened.  "Okay, let's try this again."  She turned the key and the car started.

                                                *PUTT* *PUTT* *PUTT*      

            The car slowly backed out of the drive way, then died.  "Ha, ha.  That's what you get. If someone hadn't destroyed my car, we would be on our way already, but no SOMEONE had to destroy my car.  Someone who shall go unnamed, destroyed my…"  Yuzumi began to insanely rant until Sakura hit her over the head with the window scraper that has a brush at one end and an ice scraper at the other, thus, knocking Yuzumi into a sedated dream like state.  "Hee, hee. I see Legolas.  Hmm.  Elf yum."  She said as she was hallucinating.  Everyone looked at her, then out a window.

            "I'll close the gates, and then try the car again."  Sakura said as she got out of the car.

            "I don't see what's so great about the magic.  It doesn't appear to work."  Inuyasha complained to Kenshin.

            "Yeah, maybe this one is broke and the other one wasn't."  Kenshin supplied.

            Sakura got back into the car and started it.

                                                *PUTT* *PUTT* *RRRRRR*

            It finally meowed into gear and they were off.

            After Inuyasha's complaints about him being able to run faster than the car, and Yuzumi's complaints about Kenshin not having enough room, and that Sakura needed a new car, they finally got to the festival.  They got out of the car and headed to the demonstration platform.  There were other people there, and they gave Kenshin and Inuyasha understanding looks.  They sat down and watched the mock fights.  After the Ken Jitsu[4] demonstration, they called for volunteers from the audience to try using a sword.

            "Kenshin-san you should go up there."  Yuzumi said.

            "Yeah, they might get a little suspicious of Inuyasha-sama's sword and it would draw attention to the fact that he really is Inuyasha.  Go for it Kenshin."  Sakura cheered.

            "Well okay."  Kenshin said and went up onto the platform.

            Inuyasha indifferently shrugged, "Have fun."

            The sensei gave the first person in line a katana and set up a target.  As they went down the line giving each person a turn, they finally came to Kenshin.

            "Here you go."  The sensei said and offered Kenshin the sword.

            "No thanks, I already have a sword."  Kenshin said by way of turning down the offer.  He stepped forward and drew his sakaba and cut the target in half.

            "Hey, you're pretty good.  We'd be glad to let you join our dojo."  The sensei said after noting Kenshin's perfect technique, and hearing the applause of the crowd.

            "Thank you very much, but I don't want to join a dojo."  Kenshin politely declined with his hand behind his head in a sign of slight embarrassment.  He then turned and walked back to where Inuyasha, Yuzumi, and Sakura were seated.

            "That was cool Kenshin-san."  Yuzumi excitedly declared.

            "Okay, I'll admit it was cool."  Sakura agreed, "Though Inuyasha-sama could do better."  She added under her breath.

            "What did you say?"  Yuzumi suspiciously inquired.

            "I said lets get some food."  Sakura lied.

            "Do they have Ramen here?"  Inuyasha asked.

            "I don't know.  Let's find out." Sakura answered.

            They headed off to the food booths and looked around.  After soothing a disappointed Inuyasha, they got whatever food was most appetizing, and sat in a group under a tree.  As they began to eat, several girls gathered at a distance and talked excitedly amongst themselves.  Sakura and Yuzumi noticed this, and proceeded to glare at the girls.

            "Yuzumi, we're going to have to finish up here soon.  Unless I miss my guess, those are cultish fan girls.  They probably recognized Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin.  They also probably know that they really are Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin, not just cosplayers."  Sakura quietly informed Yuzumi.

            "I think you're right.  Let's get the goods and get out of here.  I don't want those girls to get any ideas about kidnapping Kenshin-san and Inuyasha."  Yuzumi whispered back.

            "Right, I hadn't thought of that.  Let's finish eating, then grab the goods, and go."  Sakura proposed to Yuzumi, who shook her head in agreement.

            They quickly finished their food, and began to walk toward the sales booths.  As they left, the group of fan girls started taking pictures and recording the moves of the guys.  The group appeared to be split into two ranks: the photographers, and the reporters.  One girl, who appeared to be their leader, held an arrogant and cunning smile on her face.  Yuzumi and Sakura noticed this and began to worry about how the guys would react.  Kenshin appeared unperturbed, but Inuyasha was obviously getting very annoyed.

            "Would you get the hell away from me?!"  Inuyasha shouted at them when he'd reached the limit of his tolerance.

            At that moment the girl who appeared to be their leader, stepped forward and slightly inclined her body in a small, but polite, bow.  "We are sorry to disturb you, but we have the information that we require for the moment.  We will now depart, but we will meet again under different circumstances."  With that the girl smiled cunningly and led her fan girls away.

            "I didn't like her attitude."  Yuzumi said in disgust.

            "I didn't like that last declaration.  We better be on our guard, Yuzumi.  She's up to something."  Sakura warned.

            Once the fan girls were out of sight, Yuzumi and Sakura lead the guys to the kimono and katana booths.  At the booths, they surveyed the items for sale.  Most of these items would cost several hundred dollars to purchase.  The kimonos were very pretty, and the katanas were all battle ready.  After asking many questions about the goods, Sakura and Yuzumi decided to put their plan into action.  They went into the dark corner that was near the booths and pulled two black scarves out of their pockets.  They tied one scarf around their mouths and the other around their foreheads.  Next, they pulled out some smoke balls and lighters.

            "Ready?"  Sakura asked, as Yuzumi nodded her head.  Meanwhile Inuyasha and Kenshin looked at the two of them, then at each other, and got ready to run.  "Okay on three we throw the smoke balls at the stage, grab the goods, and run."  She turned to the guys and said, "This could get messy.  Be ready to run, fast.  One.."  They flicked the lighters to ignite them, "Two."  They light the smoke balls.  "Three!!!"  Sakura and Yuzumi threw the smoke balls at the stage, thus causing chaos and confusion.  They then proceeded to collect several katanas and put on some of the kimonos

            With the kimonos billowing out behind them, they made a mad dash toward Sakura's car.  As they were running the smoke began to clear and the shop keepers began shouting and chasing after the gang.  Finely, they reached Sakura's car and they hoped in.  Sakura put the key in the ignition and turned it.

                                    *RRRRRRRR* She tried again *RRRRRRRR*

            "Awww kuso!  What are we gonna do?"  Yuzumi worried.

            "Shut up at let me try again."  She turned the key again.  *RRRRRR* "Come on, come on."  She chanted until the car meowed into life.  "Okay let's get the hell outa here."  She proposed as she pulled out of the parking lot.

            Yuzumi took a quick glance at the shop keepers and saw them hoping into a car and begin to give chase.  "Step on it Sakura.  They just got into a car and from the looks of it they're gonna catch us."

            "No they won't."  Sakura insisted as she merged into traffic and headed for the highway.  The shop keepers also merged into traffic, and were gaining on Sakura and crew.

            "Sakura they're gaining on us!  Can't this thing move any faster?"  Yuzumi franticly asked.

            "Looks like it's time for a short cut."  With this Sakura pulled off the road and headed for an arroyo.  "They won't catch us!"  She maniacally predicted.

  


* * *

[1] A very rough and insulting way of saying you; of translated as you bitch/bastard

[2] a form of demon

[3] Wound of the Wind; one of Inuyasha's sword attacks

[4] 'ken' sword and 'jitsu' martial art

**Author's ravings:  **There's chapter two.  Hope you enjoyed it, and hope it was written better than the first chapter.  I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment so it's easy to update.  I'll probably slow down once school starts (that or I get swamped with work).


	3. Day 2 part II

     DAY 2- The Chaos (part II)

            After a long perilous chase involving an arroyo, Yuzumi's rubber pancake, a bridge, and a semi truck carrying cotton swabs, the gang drove into Sakura's driveway.  Just as she pulled the car in and parked it, the car shuddered, lurched, made an explosion sound, and began to smoke.  "Well, that can't be good."  She stated as everyone rushed out of the car.  Sakura proceeded to pop the hood and looked at the engine.  Everything looked okay except that the engine wasn't in the car.  Instead the engine had exploded out of the car and fallen to the ground in several pieces.  "My car is officially dead."  She sighed.

            "At least we got the goods."  Yuzumi optimistically said.  "And, you're lucky your car wasn't evaporated."  She added under her breath.

            "Now maybe my parents'll give me a new car.  Okay let's get the goods inside and go visit Genus Incorporated."  She proposed.

            "Good thing these car things don't eat when they're near death."  Inuyasha, who was still convinced a car was some kind of yokai (and Sakura's comment about it dying added to his theory), whispered to Kenshin.

            Kenshin couldn't think up a suitable response to Inuyasha's comment, so instead shrugged his shoulders.  Meanwhile, Yuzumi and Sakura took out the katanas and kimonos, and carried them into the house.  They soon returned and began to lead the guys out the gates.  They walked down the street and came to a huge field with an old run down house in the center.  They followed a track that lead to the house and went up to the door.  "Here we are.  Genus Incorporated."  Yuzumi informed the guys.

            "There's something in there that'll get me back home?"  Inuyasha suspiciously asked.  "It looks like the only use you could get out of this is fire wood."

            "Don't be too quick to judge things by their appearance Inuyasha-sama."  Sakura philosophically stated.

            Yuzumi hit her over the head, "Don't make yourself sound so smart."

            "Owww."  Sakura whined as she put her hand on the spot that Yuzumi had hit.

            "Anyway, you'll understand when you get inside.  It's much bigger inside than you think."

            Yuzumi and Sakura opened the door and walked in.  They guys followed behind and were astonished by the site before their eyes.  The outside looked old and run down, but the inside was totally different.  The inside had the appearance of a fancy office building complete with a café, and even had more than one floor.  Above a desk, with what looked to be a ticket dispenser, there was a sign that read 'Please take a number and wait.'  There were also a few people milling around.

            "Oro?"  Kenshin said as he took everything in.

            "What in the hells…?"  Inuyasha said in a slightly awed voice.

            "See, it's bigger on the inside than you thought."  Yuzumi said as she went to take a number.

            "How can the inside of this place be bigger than it is on the outside?"  Kenshin asked Sakura.

            "I'm not really sure.  My sister tried to explain it to me once, but I got really confused.  From what I did understand was that this is some kind of dimensional warp."  Sakura tried to explain.

            "Ohhhh."  Both Inuyasha and Kenshin said, obviously pretending to understand.

            At this moment Yuzumi came back and held up their number, "We're number 13.  I don't know if that's a good thing, but let's get something to drink."  She led them to the café and ordered lemonade for everyone, while Sakura found a place to sit.

            "Will we have to wait long?"  Kenshin politely inquired.

            "I'm not waiting around!  I need to return and get the shards of the Shikon no Tama!"  Inuyasha pointedly informed everyone.

            "It shouldn't be too long of a wait.  Most people come to our sisters for simple things like, questions about home work.  I just hope they can help us out."  Sakura answered.

            After three minutes of trying to keep Inuyasha from ripping the place apart with impatience, the loud speaker called number 13.  "Will number thirteen please proceed up the stairs to our office?"

            "Thirteen, that's us, let's go."  Yuzumi remarked as she lead the way up the stairs.  I wasn't a long flight of stairs, so it took them only a moment to reach the top.  At the top was a landing and one door.  On the door was a sign that read, 

                                                **Office- Tanbou and **Űmëa**__**

_                                          Einstein was great, but Washuu was greater._

            Sakura knocked on the door and opened it.  In the room, there was a desk with two girls sitting behind it.  In front of each of them was a name tag.  Tanbou[1] was on the left and Űmëa[2] was on the right.  "Welcome to Genus Incorporated," Tanbou began, "We solve…"  The voice stopped when she saw who had entered.  She and Űmëa looked at Yuzumi, then at Sakura, next at Kenshin, and lastly at Inuyasha.  They turned to each other, nodded, pulled assign that read 'out to lunch', set the sign on the desk, and said, "Sorry, but we are going out to lunch now.  Why don't you try back next week?"

            "Ha, ha very funny.  It's after two o'clock."  Sakura said with a glare.

            "Who are these girls?"  Kenshin whispered to Yuzumi.

            "Tanbou is Sakura's sister, and Űmëa is mine.  They are really smart, and if anyone can solve your problem they can."  Yuzumi answered.

            "I'm truly sorry, but we won't be able to help you at this time."  Űmëa dismissively stated.

            Inuyasha had heard Yuzumi's comment to Kenshin about Tanbou and Űmëa being extremely intelligent.  He had also decided that, from what he had already seen in this world, Yuzumi and Sakura had lots of magic devices at their disposal.  He was also getting fed up with delays, and thus he decided to take matters into his own hands.  He stepped in front of Sakura, who was now heatedly arguing with the Genus duo, to speak to them.  "Listen human girls, I need to return to my world.  There are pieces of the Shikon no Tama scattered all over my world and I have to collect them before Naraku does.  Quit making excuses and get me to my world!"  Inuyasha said with a growl.  To emphasize his words, he held up his claws and cracked his knuckles.

            "Ah, ha, well perhaps we can help you out after all.  Please give us the details of your problem."  Űmëa nervously said.

            "What the hell are you doing, Űmëa?"  Tanbou urgently whispered to Űmëa.

            "We already know how to create dimensional warps, so how hard could it be to figure out how to break into other dimensions?  Besides, it's _Inuyasha and do you see Kagome anywhere?  We have to help them or face his claws.'  Űmëa whispered back._

            "Right, good points."  Tanbou said turning to the gang.  "Go ahead please."

            Yuzumi and Sakura gave a detailed account of how they were sleeping when suddenly they found Inuyasha and Kenshin in the TV room.  Tanbou and Űmëa listened, took notes, and even recorded parts of the account.  They also asked many questions about the TV and possible lightning storm.

            After about a half hour of discussions, the Genus Inc. came to a conclusion.  "We'll need sometime to work everything out.  I have an idea of what happened, but I gotta work the bugs out and figure out how to implement my theory."  Tanbou said.

           "Come back in three days and we'll have something for you."  Űmëa told them and began to shoo them out the door.  Yuzumi and Sakura nodded and walked out the door, Kenshin and Inuyasha followed.  Inuyasha stopped just before exiting to threateningly crack his knuckles again.

            "Don't worry, Inuyasha, we'll figure this out."  Űmëa assured him.  Inuyasha turned and walked through the door.

            "So, how long will it take us to get out of the country?"  Tanbou asked when everyone had left.

            "Five minutes, but remember Kenshin _was a hitokiri[3], Inuyasha _is_ a dog demon, and Sakura and Yuzumi _are_ our sisters.  The question should be 'if we leave, how long will it take them to find us?'"  Űmëa informed Tanbou._

            "You're right.  They'd find us and Inuyasha would cut us to ribbons.  We better get to work."  Tanbou sighed.

            "Three days.  Think we can last that long?"  Sakura asked Yuzumi as the gang walked down the stairs.

            "Sure, no problem.  I mean how hard could it be?  All we have to do is stay in our houses with them and keep a low profile for awhile."  Yuzumi said confidently.

            "Uhhhh, Yuzumi, you know how many people in movies and such who are in similar situations say that?"

            "No."  Yuzumi thought for a moment, "Hundreds?"

            "Yeah and what happens to them?"

            "C'mon Sakura, it's not like this is some movie.  I admit keeping Inuyasha low profile could be difficult, but Kenshin'll be no problem."

            "Somehow I get this funny feeling that the next three days are going to be hell."

            "What are we going to do until the three days have passed?"  Kenshin asked.  Inuyasha began muttering something under his breath, but what it was no one heard.

            "I don't know."  Sakura answered.

            "I know!"  Yuzumi joyfully proclaimed.  "We can play tennis!"

            "…You have tennis balls?  I have rackets, but no tennis balls."  Sakura asked as a she began to have a sneaking suspicion that Yuzumi had come up with a random item to use as a ball.  She also had a funny feeling that the object would be a certain pancake.

            "We could use this!"  Yuzumi said as she held up her rubber pancake.

            "I knew it!  That's getting really old, Yuzumi.  Just throw the thing away!"

            "But I can't!  It's… it's my precious!"  Yuzumi began to wail as she held the pancake up as a security blanket.

            Sakura and the others stared at her with a 'she's a complete idiot' look.  "Okay, we'll use the stupid pancake."

            "How do we play this game?"  Kenshin asked as Yuzumi danced around.

            "Two ways, one, the proper way, or two we make it up as we go along.  The latter is the most fun, and since we don't have a proper ball, we'll make things up as we go along."  Sakura informed him.

            When the gang got back to Sakura's house, Sakura and Yuzumi got out tennis rackets and set up the net.  The handed the guys each a racket and divide into two teams; Sakura and Inuyasha verses Kenshin and Yuzumi.  They spun the rackets to see who would go first and who would chose sides.  Yuzumi won the toss, so she and Kenshin served, while Sakura and Inuyasha chose sides.

            "Alright, here's how we're gonna play.  To serve you must throw the pancake like a Frisbee, and the opposing side must hit it back using the rackets.  You score points by hitting one of your opponents, or by the pancake hitting the ground on the opposing side.  Outside of the lawn is out of bounds.  To bring the pancake back into bounds, the team whose side didn't cause it to go out must kick it in.  Every one agrees to this?"  Sakura pitched the idea to everyone, who in turn nodded.

            The teams took their places and got ready to play.  Yuzumi tossed the pancake Frisbee fashion, and it sailed neatly over the net.  Sakura swung her racket at the pancake, and aimed it at Yuzumi.  Yuzumi hit the pancake and lobbed it at Inuyasha.

            "Sankontesou!"  Inuyasha yelled as the pancake came flying at him.  His attack hit the pancake, bounced off and hit a nearby tree.  Instead of stopping the pancake hit Inuyasha and hit the ground.

            "Two points for us!"  Yuzumi happily stated.

            "Oh how do you figure?"  Sakura glaringly replied.

            "One point for hitting dog-boy, and one point for hitting the ground, that's how."

            "Well then, take this!"  Sakura shouted as she served the pancake at Kenshin.  The pancake hit the side of Kenshin's head, bounced off, hit Yuzumi in the side of the head, and landed on the ground.  "Three points for us!"

"That's it!  No more Miss nice lady!"  Yuzumi yelled, while serving the pancake.

The game continued until it began to grow dark outside, and every one was breathless and tired.  "I probably should get home."  Yuzumi said, "But I have no idea how.  I can't call my parents and ask them to come pick me up 'cause they'd ask why I was here, and it's such a long walk.'

"I have an idea.  I do have another car, but I'm not supposed to get it until I turn 21."  Sakura suggested.  "My grandpa got it and my parents don't want me to drive it yet, but since my other car is dead…."  She left it hanging.

"What kind of car is it?"

"A truck.  The kind with four doors and one of those hood thinggys over the back.  I call it the tank."

"You think it would be okay to take it?"

"Yeah, you guys get ready to go and I'll get the keys and Yuzumi's share of the loot."  Sakura said, running off.

Sakura pulled the tank out of the driveway and everyone got in, everyone except Inuyasha.  "I'm not going in another one of those!"  He adamantly declared.

"C'mon Inuyasha-sama.  It's not going to hurt you, I promise."  Sakura coaxed.

"No."

"Hmmm…well if you won't get _in_ the car, you could ride on top of it."  Sakura suggested.

Inuyasha thought about it for awhile, and decided that if he had to go, he would rather be riding on it instead of in it.  So, he hoped on the hood of the tank and sat down cross-legged.  Sakura hit the gas and began the short drive to Yuzumi's house.  A few minutes later, they arrived at Yuzumi's house and she and Kenshin got out of the car.  "Call me in the morning, Yuzumi."  Sakura said as Yuzumi unlocked her front door.

"I will."  She replied.

            Sakura drove back to her house and into the driveway.  As she got out of the tank, and Inuyasha jumped down from the top, Sakura noticed her parents' car.  _Oh yeah they were supposed to come home today.  Crap!  How an I gonna explain the car?  How am I gonna explain Inuyahsa-sama?!_  She thought and began to panic.  She walked up to her door with Inuyasha in tow.  She walked in and saw her parents standing in the doorway.  Sakura tried to come up with explanations for everything, but her brain had shut down.  "Hi." Was all that Sakura was able to say.

            "What happened?  Why did you take the truck?"  Her mother asked.  It appeared that her mother hadn't noticed Inuyasha.  Her father on the other hand, had.  In fact her father was staring piercingly at Inuyasha.

            "Ummm, well I got home from work and when I parked the engine fell out."  She lied.  How the hell was she supposed to tell her parents about Inuyasha and Kenshin?  Would they believe her?  Ha, ha yeah, in her dreams.

            "That still doesn't answer why you used the truck?"  Her mother pressed.

            _Crap!  I am so caught.  What should I say?  I had to take Yuzumi home, but…that's it!_  "Yuzumi called me from her work and said that her car had broken down.  You know dead battery or something, so I took the truck to help her out."  She lied yet again.  As she finished this statement she saw the look on her father's face.  He was looking at Inuyasha and Sakura could read his every thought.  She could almost hear 'Claws, dog ears, claws, fangs, claws, slitted gold eyes…demon.'

            Suddenly her dad pointed, _crap here it comes.  "You…you are a DEMON!  How dare you!  You have turned my daughter from the right path!  Get out of my house!  You aren't allowed to return until you have rid yourself of this evil[4]!"  Sakura's father, who happened to be the pastor of the church, member of the Gideons, etc., declared._

            Sakura turned to her mother, but she had the 'do as your father says' look.  _Curse it all.  Well, I guess I could pack some things and camp out at Yuzumi's for the next three days.  Sakura sullenly walked to her room and began to pack some things._

            "Is your dad or who ever that was, some kind of priest?"  Inuyasha asked.

            "Yeah you could say that.  C'mon let's get back in the tank."  Sakura sighed and headed out the door of her house.  She tossed her packs into the tank, Inuyasha jumped on top, and Sakura backed out of the driveway.  She headed once again to Yuzumi's.  It was slightly dark out, but not dark enough for Sakura to turn on her head lights.  She turned on to Yuzumi's road and saw two figures carrying packs walking down the road.  _That looks like…_Sakura stopped her thought and slammed on the brakes.  She came to a screeching halt which cause Inuyasha to fly off the top of the tank and land in a patch of bushes.  "Ahhhh!  Inuyasha-sama!"  Sakura said as she ran out of the tank and over to Inuyasha.

            "I thought you were supposed to be my priestess, not my murderer!"  Inuyasha angrily growled.

            "I'm sooooooooooo sorry Inuyasha-sama!"  Sakura profusely apologized.  "I saw Yuzumi and Kenshin on the road and had to stop."

            "Yo, let me guess you got kicked out of your house too?"  Yuzumi asked.

            "Yeah, my dad took a good look at Inuyasha and declared that I couldn't come into the house until I got rid of him."

            "My parents saw Kenshin putting on night clothes in my room and said I couldn't come back home until I got my act together."

            "Uhh, why was he changing in your room?"

            "I told him he could sleep in there and I'd take the couch."

            "Oh.  Well, load up and we'll find a place to camp."

            "Right."  Yuzumi tossed her belongings into the back of the tank and she, along, with Kenshin, climbed in.

            "Hell no.  I refuse to get in or on that thing."  Inuyasha resolutely stated.

            "Please Inuyasha-sama."  Sakura pleaded with the begging puppy dog face complete with tears.  Now the only person who has ever been able to resist Sakura's begging face was Yuzumi, and even she couldn't hold out too long.  So, after looking at Sakura's pleading face, Inuyasha gave in and climbed into the tank.  Sakura started the tank and set out for a park.

            After driving around for a few hours to find a park that didn't have a curfew, they found a spot and pulled over.  "Inuyasha-sama, Kenshin, there's plenty of room in the back, and it's covered, so you two can sleep back there.  Yuzumi and I can sleep up front."  Sakura proposed.

            Kenshin looked around the park and noticed the raggedly dressed thugs, and various scum that always crawled in the cities.  "Would that be safe for you two?"  H e concernedly asked.

            "Oh, no we'll be fine.  Don't worry about us."  Sakura said as she pulled down a part of the tank's roof.  From the opening one could see that it was a secret compartment; out rolled a rack of katanas.  Sakura and Yuzumi each chose one to their liking.  Next, Sakura opened the glove compartment, and up popped a rack of guns.  Yuzumi and Sakura again took their choice of the weapons.  Then the two of them opened the hood and pulled out a grenade launcher.  This they set up on the hood of the tank.  Lastly, the two of them pulled the back seat forward a bit and a compartment containing various shinobi[5] tools.

            "Oro?"  Kenshin said.

"Uhhh…"  Inuyasha said.

"The reason I'm not supposed to get the tank until I turn 21 is, It was preciously owned by drug carriers."  Sakura said as a way of explanation for the compartments.

Sakura gave everyone a pillow and a blanket out of the back, and every one got into their designated sleeping places.  Sakura turned the tank's security system on and went to sleep.

  


* * *

[1] Means 'dragon fly' in Japanese

[2] means 'evil' in the Elvin language Quenya (created by J.R.R. Tolkien)

[3] assassin

[4] Please note that a Christian would not necessarily act this way.  I'm only doing this for the humor of the fanfic.

[5] Ninja; theses tools would include daggers, shriken (ninja stars), and vials of various ninja tricks

**Author's Ravings:**  There's chapter 3.  Hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Day 3

                                                            DAY 3- The Confusion

            After a rather peaceful night, Yuzumi woke up and decided to hunt down some breakfast.  "I think we should go to IHOP.  We should go through the drive in and keep the guys in back.  It would probably be a bad thing if fan girls recognized them.  We could have a mob on our hands if that happened."  Yuzumi whispered to herself.  She opened the little window thing in the back seat, and saw that the guys were already awake.  "Oh.  You're awake.  I guess all that's left to do is get Sakura up.  I should warn you Kenshin-san, Inuyasha, Sakura isn't a morning person.  She'll probably be a little… um… shall we say touchy."  Kenshin and Inuyasha just looked at each other; they both new what could happen when girls were 'touchy'.  Kaoru would often found chores for Kenshin, and Kagome would end up yelling at Inuyasha.  Nothing severe mind you, but not all together pleasant either.

            Yuzumi closed the window, she didn't want either of the guys to get hurt, and then she took all of the sharp objects from the reach of Sakura.  Next, she positioned herself behind the front seat and prepared to use it as a shield.  She also made sure that she had a weapon in her hand in case Sakura was keeping a knife hidden under her.  She tried several ways of waking Sakura, but none of them worked.  "Guess I'll have to use my ace in the hole."  With this comment, she used her katana to reach over to the steering wheel and hit the horn, repeatedly.

            "What the hell is all the noise?!!!  I was sleeping!"  Sakura angrily awoke.

At most times Yuzumi wasn't the least bit afraid of Sakura, but in the morning she was terrified of the girl.  _I swear that girl could make even Nakago cower in fear.  Then again he would just send some poor unfortunate servant/slave to wake her up.  Yuzumi thought as she hid behind the seat._

Once Sakura had calmed down, and realized that Yuzumi had already removed all throw able objects from her reach, she found that she wanted some food.  "How about some breakfast?  Though Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin should probably stay in the back."  Sakura said to Yuzumi.

            "Okay, we should go to IHOP and get pancakes."

            "What is with you and pancakes?"

            "I like pancakes."  Yuzumi said in a perfect imitation of Grr.

            Sakura rolled her eyes and opened the little window in the back seat so that she could talk to Inuyasha and Kenshin.  When she looked in the back she found that the two of them were already awake, so she told them what they were going to do.  "I'm going to drive everyone to IHOP.  Inuyasha-sama, Kenshin, Yuzumi and I need you to stay where you are because we don't want fan girls to recognize you and cause problems."

            Kenshin and Inuyasha nodded, but they didn't really understand why they should stay in the back.  They didn't mind too much since it was roomier if not as comfortable in the back, but one thing confused them.  How could a group of girls that they had never seen before know who they are?  Then again Sakura and Yuzumi knew them.

            "I wonder what IHOP is?"  Kenshin thought out loud.

            "I don't know, but I hope they have Ramen."  Inuyasha shrugged. 

            Sakura started the tank and drove one block to the nearest IHOP.  She went to the drive through and ordered four sets of house pancakes, and four medium orange juices.  Yuzumi handed Kenshin and Inuyasha their breakfast as Sakura drove back to the park.  They all got out of the tank and sat on the grass to eat.

            "What is this?  Didn't they have Ramen?"  Inuyasha suspiciously asked.

            "They're pancakes and no, IHOP doesn't sell Ramen.  That's why it's called IHOP."  Yuzumi informed Inuyasha.

            "What does IHOP mean?"  Both Kenshin and Inuyasha asked.

            "International House of Pancakes."  Yuzumi said as she struggled to open a package of syrup.

            "Here let me help, Yuzumi.  I'm good at this."  Sakura offered taking the packet. She pulled it open a little too hard and squirted the syrup over both her and Yuzumi, but mostly on Yuzumi.

            "Oh great, just great.  I thought you said you were good at that."  Yuzumi said as Inuyasha began to laugh hysterically.  Kenshin smiled and tried not to laugh, and Sakura was trying to apologize while trying to contain her laughter at the same time.  Yuzumi glared at them all.

            "Take it easy, Yuzumi, I've got syrup on me too."  Sakura said by way of consultation.

            "Yeah, but not as much as I do."  Yuzumi said with a smirk.  She proceeded to pick up a packet of butter and slowly opened it, and then, she squeezed it all over Sakura.  "Ha ha.  Now we're even."

            Sakura, who now had both butter and syrup on her, took some packets of stuff and showered Yuzumi with them.  Inuyasha and Kenshin sat eating their pancakes with their hands and dodging the flying sticky stuff that occasionally cam their way.  On the whole it was a rather amusing fight to watch.  The only problem was that when the fight was done both Sakura and Yuzumi needed a shower and a change of clothes.

            "Well that was fun, but what are we supposed to do now?  We're covered in butter and syrup.  How are we going to get to a shower?"  Yuzumi complained to Sakura.

            "Oh ye of little faith get in the tank and we'll go find a shower."

            "Yeah, where?"  Yuzumi said with an arched eyebrow.  "At a homeless shelter?"

            "We could go see if the homeless shelters have showers, but I was thinking of something that requires less driving around.  Just get in the tank and you'll see."  Sakura said.  Everyone got into the tank and Sakura headed off.

            About five minutes later, they pulled into someone's drive way and Sakura walked up to the door.  Before knocking, she turned to the tank and signaled for the others to come.  She knocked on the door and waited, while the others joined her.  A few minutes later, the door opened and a medium height Mexican girl answered.  She looked at Sakura, then at Yuzumi, Inuyasha, and lastly at Kenshin.  She opened the door and ushered them inside, and before closing the door, she checked to see if anyone was watching.  She bolted the door and turned to her guests. "Sakura, you and your friend can use my shower in a minute.  I want some introductions."

            "This is my good friend Yuzumi."  Sakura said pointing at Yuzumi, "That's Inuyasha-sama, and that one is Kenshin."  She pointed to the girl, "Everyone, this is Rei.  She's Subaru no miko[1]."  Sakura emphasized, with the hope that Rei would understand how she and Yuzumi had passed themselves off to the guys.

            Rei caught the hint and ushered everyone into her living room.  "The bathroom's that way."  She said pointing down the hall.  Yuzumi got up and went into the bathroom and locked the door.  "The rest of you can sit in here and watch the glorious show, X."

            "Okay, I need to grab some spare clothes out of the tank, and then I need to talk to you."  Sakura excused herself while Rei got the first X DVD.

            When Sakura retuned into the house, she took a set of clothes and knocked on the bathroom door.  "Here's a change of clothes, Yuzumi. I'll just set them outside the door."  She said as she set the clothes on the floor.  She took the other set and headed into the living room.  Rei and the guys were peacefully watching X.  "Rei, must you convert _everyone to an X fan?  Let's go into the kitchen 'cause I need some help."  Rei pouted, but followed Sakura into the kitchen.  Sakura told Rei about the TV incident and how she and Yuzumi had to keep an eye on Inuyasha and Kenshin for three days.  She also told Rei about getting kicked out of her house and about the group of cultish fan girls._

            "Just go shopping.  That'll make you feel better.  Besides it'll give Inuyasha and Kenshin a good taste of what this world is like."  Rei suggested.  "You can dress them up as girls so that no one will recognize them.  I have some old dress-up clothes that we could use.  You guys can also stay here for the next few days.  My parents are on a second honey moon, so I have the house to myself for the next three weeks."

            "Alright.  Thanks.  Shopping sounds like fun, as long as we can get the guys in a good disguise.  You want to come?"  Sakura gratefully replied.

            "Nah, I'm going to hold an X marathon."  Rei turned down the offer as Yuzumi came out of the bathroom and walked into the kitchen.

            "Shower's free."  Yuzumi announced.

            "Okay, have Rei explain the game plan for today."  Sakura said as she headed for the shower.  "Oh, stay off the internet while Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin are here.  Also, no watching their shows.  We don't want any complicated questions that could lead to an identity crisis."

            "Good idea.  We don't want what happened to Tamahome to happen to these two."  Yuzumi agreed.

            "Too bad Subaru isn't one of the ones that got transported here."  Rei commented with a dreamy look in her eyes, as Sakura proceeded to the shower.

            A few minutes later Sakura reemerged to see Rei and Yuzumi picking out clothes for Inuyasha and Kenshin.  Both of which were protesting loudly.

            "Come on Inuyasha-sama.  You need some kind of disguise, and dressing as a girl is perfect."  Sakura pleaded.

            "No."  Inuyasha said and began to crack his knuckles menacingly.

            "Okay" Sakura started as she caught Inuyasha's threat.  "Well, I guess we could try dressing you in jeans, and try tying your hair back into a pony tail."

            "Ororo… I'd really rather not dress as a girl…"  Kenshin was complaining to Yuzumi.

            "Kenshin-san, you need a disguise, and in this world just putting a bandage over your cheek isn't going to cut it.  You need to look completely different."  Yuzumi informed Kenshin with a hint of steel in her voice.

            After much arguing, snarling, complaining, and struggling, Yuzumi and Sakura finally got Inuyasha and Kenshin into suitable disguises.  Kenshin was sporting a pink dress with carnations on it, his hair tied into a bun, and some Halloween make-up to hide the scar.  Inuyasha was dressed in on of Rei's father's suits, an official looking hat, and his hair tied into a pony tail.  Satisfied with their work, Sakura and Yuzumi herded the sullen guys into the tank.

            Sakura navigated through the traffic and within fifteen minutes pulled into the mall parking lot.  "Here we are."  Sakura announced with a smile.  She unloaded everyone and set the security systems on the tank to stun.  "As long as no one recognizes Inuyasha-sama or Kenshin this should be fun."

            Yuzumi nodded in agreement and Inuyasha and Kenshin sedately began to trail after the two mikos.  They walked into the mall and began window shopping.  "It would probably be a good idea to avoid the shops that anime fans frequent.  I don't care how good a disguise is, if a true fan were to see them they'd know just by the color of their hair."  Yuzumi whispered to Sakura.

            "Unfortunately, you're right.  Plus they might see their manga or their anime."  Sakura agreed.  They wandered through various clothing stores and trinket shops for several hours and the guys were obviously bored out of their minds.

            "Hey look at that necklace, Sakura.  Couldn't you just picture some one from Slayers wearing that?"  Yuzumi exclaimed to Sakura as she spied a display in Clare's.

            "Yeah, it almost looks like the amulets that they wear."  Sakura excitedly replied while Inuyasha's stomach gave an audible noise.  "Oh, looks like maybe it's time to find some lunch huh?"  Sakura commented.  Inuyasha just glared at her.  "Okay, I'm sorry we'll go to the food court and see what they have to eat."

            "You sure the food court is a good idea?"  Yuzumi asked.

            "Yeah its way past noon so not many people will be there, and I haven't seen the usual gathering of anime fans today."  Sakura assured her.  They headed out of Clare's and Kenshin stopped and grabbed for his non existent sakaba[2].

            "What's wrong Kenshin-san?"  Yuzumi asked with a frown.  Inuyasha also froze and made a slight growling noise in his throat.

            "Someone's following us."  Kenshin and Inuyasha said in unison.  Sakura and Yuzumi looked at each other and prayed that it wasn't the cultish fan girls.

            "Let's continue on to the food court." Yuzumi suggested.  "Maybe they aren't really following us."  She added hopefully and led them down the hall to the stairs.  Just before they reached the stairs there was a large commotion behind them and some flashes.  The gang quickly turned and Yuzumi and Sakura stared in wide mouthed horror at the scene before them.  The group of fan girls that had weighed upon their minds since their appearance at the festival had returned.  They were still divided in their ranks and the leader still appeared to be the arrogant girl with a sneer.

            "We meet again, and we shall meet one more time before all is done.  Know that I am the lovely Martina, and I have come to bring Inuyasha and Kenshin to a perfect paradise."  The leader said with a flourish and she and the cultish fan group departed.

            "Oro…?"  Kenshin and Yuzumi said.

            "Ano[3]…?"  Inuyasha and Sakura said.

            "Well at least we know the name she goes by.  Martina.  Isn't that a French name?  She doesn't look French to me."  Yuzumi said.

            "Martina…Martina…where have I heard that name before?"  Sakura thought.  "Oh well it'll come to me.  So, how about some food?"

            "What did that girl mean by 'perfect paradise'?"  Inuyasha and Kenshin inquired.

            Sakura and Yuzumi shrugged.  "I think she's just a nut case."  Yuzumi indifferently replied.  Though Yuzumi and Sakura were acting casually they were really worried.  That encounter had the air of 'just wait and I the psycho fan girl am gonna capture two awesome anime characters'.  They decided that the best way to handle the situation was to feed the guys, get the hell out of the mall, and lock themselves in Rei's house until Genus Inc. had figured out how to get the guys home.

            The girls lead the way down the stairs and to the food court.  "Okay guys what do you want to eat?"  Sakura asked.

            "Ramen."  Inuyasha promptly replied.

            "Onigiri[4]."  Yuzumi said.

            "Anything that's not too much trouble is fine."  Kenshin humbly requested.

            Sakura rolled her eyes.  "I should have known.  You guys are nothing if not predictable."  After some searching and insistent inquiring, everyone found what they wanted at a Panda Express.  Sakura pushed the tray of stuff to the register and kindly paid for everyone's meal.

            "Thanks for lunch, Sakura."  Yuzumi said with a smile.  "Did you see that girl who was putting our orders on the plates?  I could have sworn she was smirking at us."  She added softly to Sakura.

            "Your just being paranoid, Yuzumi."  Sakura chided as they navigated their way through the jungle of chairs to an out of the way booth.

            "Itadakimasu!"  They all said in unison and dug into their food.

            They all happily ate their meals and when everyone had finished, Yuzumi took their trash and kindly disposed of it.  "Are we going to continue shopping, or are we going to go back to Rei's?"  Yuzumi inquired of Sakura.

            "Let's head to Rei's.  The last thing I want is another encounter with Martina."  Sakura answered as they got up and pushed in their chairs.  Inuyasha and Kenshin were immensely relieved to hear this.  They didn't like shopping, and they desperately wanted to get out of their disguises.  The four of them headed out of the food court area and began walking past a trinket shop when there was a loud explosion and lots of screaming coming from the opposite end of the mall.

            Fearing the worst, the group decided to go investigate, but before they could see what had happened a couple of mall security officers came running toward them and yelling for the place to be evacuated.  "Every please vacate the mall this instant.  Some one has set off a bomb in Mervyn's.  We need everyone to calmly proceed to the nearest exit.  There may be more bombs, so we ask everyone to leave immediately and please remain clam."  Of course, as soon as one of the officers had finished saying this, the entire crowd in the mall began to scream and panic.

            People began pushing into Sakura and co.  "Yuzumi, Inuyasha, Kenshin, let's get out of the mall before we get separated.  We can't get to the place were the bomb was set off.  Not in this mob."  Having said this, Sakura edged her way through the crowd toward Inuyasha.  Yuzumi was likewise trying to get to Kenshin.

            Before the girls could get to the guys, some smoke balls were thrown into the mob.  It wasn't long before neither Sakura no Yuzumi could see more than a foot in front of them.  Sakura and Yuzumi began to frantically search for the guys, but to know avail.  After fruitlessly searching for awhile, Sakura caught a glimpse of Yuzumi.  "Yo, Yuzumi.  Do you know where Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin are?"

            Yuzumi moved toward Sakura's voice until she saw her.  "No, and I take it you don't either.  Sakura, I have a bad feeling about this."

            "Yeah, me too.  Let's get to the exit.  The guys wouldn't have gone far; at least I don't think they would."

            Highly concerned, the girls waded through the throng of people to the exit.  Once outside they took several deep breaths and looked around.  They watched as people kept pouring out of the building, but there wasn't any sign of either Kenshin or Inuyasha.  They waited until the mall was closed and it became apparent that all of the patrons had vacated the premises.  "Sakura, where could Kenshin-san and Inuyasha be?"  Yuzumi asked with concern.  Sakura didn't answer Yuzumi.  Instead of paying attention to her friend, she was looking at a scrap of paper.  "Sakura…Sakura…Sakura!"  Yuzumi shouted to get her attention.

            "Huh, what?"  Sakura asked looking up from the sheet of paper.

            "What?  What do you mean 'what'?  Kenshin-san and Inuyasha are missing?  What are we supposed to do?  Where could they be?"  Yuzumi frantically asked.  Sakura didn't respond.  Instead she handed the piece of paper to Yuzumi.

            "Someone put this in my hand as I was walking out of the mall.  I didn't see who, but it doesn't matter who gave it to me."  Sakura said as Yuzumi began to unfold the paper.  On the inside of the scrap of paper there was a note written with in a bubbly hand.

            **_Ha ha!  What was once yours is now ours.  Don't think about finding your precious Inuyasha or your adorable Kenshin.  They are mine!  But don't worry; we will take good care of them.  In fact, we intend to bring them to eternal paradise with us._**

**_                                                            Sincerely,_**

**_                                                                        Miko Martina_**

            Yuzumi finished reading the letter and looked at Sakura in utter horror.  "Martina…?  She's the leader of the psycho fan girls right?"  Sakura nodded.  "So, that means this whole mess with the mall was the work of those girls?"  Sakura nodded again.  "And now they have Kenshin-san and Inuyasha?"  Sakura nodded once again.  Yuzumi stopped talking and just looked horrified.

            "I don't know what Martina meant by 'miko', but I've got a really bad feeling.  She sounds like someone who escaped from a psycho ward; one of the ones with the strait jackets.  I also don't like her declaration of brining Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin to paradise of some kind.  At least we know where the guys are."  Sakura said.

            "You know where the fan girls took them?"  Yuzumi asked in an awed voice.

            "That's not what I meant.  We have to find those fans and rescue the guys before they can do anything to them, but at least we know the guys aren't in the mall, or in too much danger."  Sakura replied.  "Let's go back to Rei's.  She might have an idea where to begin looking for the guys.  It's been bugging me for a while, but I just know I've heard the name 'Martina' some where before."  Sakura said as she led the way to the tank.

            They shortly reached Rei's house and entered to find Rei on the couch in front of her TV.  She had a bowl of popcorn and an expression that only a true X fan could have.  Sakura walked over to her and shock Rei.  "Hey Rei we've got a big problem.  Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin have been kidnapped."

            "That's your problem.  I'm watching X."  Rei responded with as she continued watching her show.

            Sakura, who was frustrated, angry, and in a murderous mood, walked over to the DVD player, stopped and ejected the DVD, grabbed a lighter, lit it, and held it under the DVD.  "Help or the DVD goes out in the glory of flames."

            "Noooooooooooo!  Not my precious X.  I'll do anything, just don't hurt the DVD."  Rei pleaded with tears in her eyes.

            "Good."  Sakura said while putting the flame out on the lighter.  "We recived this notice from the kidnappers."  Sakura handed the slip of paper with the not from Martina on it to Rei.

            "Do you have any idea where to start looking, Rei?"  Yuzumi said in a mother who's lost her child voice.  Rei glanced at the paper, read the note, turned the paper over, glared at the girls, and handed them the slip of paper.

            Sakura took the note back and stared at the back side.  "Oro?"

            "What?"  Yuzumi said noting Sakura's slightly ashamed look.  She leaned over Sakura's shoulder and saw what had forced an 'oro' out of her.  On the back of the note was a beautifully drawn map.  The map showed the location of a park, and there was and 'x' on one the lower right hand side of the park.  Labeled next to the 'x' was some writing that read:

            **_Meeting in the drainage pipe beyond the swings 10:30_**

            "Eh, he.  I guess that means we'll be going now."  Yuzumi announced.

            "Now that the two of you know where you need to go, could I please have my precious X DVD back now?"  Rei said in a transition from annoyance to begging.

            "Alright, here."  Sakura handed the DVD back and Rei cuddled it like a security blanket.  "Thanks Rei.  We were too excited to even look on the back.  Alright, Yuzumi, let's load up the tank."

            "Right, but do you think it's a trap?  I mean who would be stupid enough to leave a map to their hid out?"  Yuzumi asked.

            "It could be a trap, or it could be that Martina is careless, or she's just stupid.  We just have to prepare for the worst case scenario."  Sakura shrugged.

            The two of them ran around Rei's house gathering their equipment while Rei resumed her marathon and muttering something along the lines of, "Don't worry.  I won't let them take you away again.  Mommy will protect you."  They grabbed practical things such as smoke balls, duct tape, bandanas, vinegar, flares, various fire crackers, lighter fluid, rope, and matches.  They also gathered some more obscure things such as first aid kits, nail polish remover, Elmer's glue, paper clips, various keys, pencils, paper, empty prescription pill bottles, and two bottles of wine.  With their gear gathered, they loaded into the tank and were ready to head off.

  


* * *

[1] Priestess of Subaru; Subaru is a character in X/1999

[2] Kenshin's reverse blade sword

[3] Umm

[4] Rice balls with fish, plums, etc. in the middle

**Author's note:**  Sorry about the long wait.  I've been busy lately.  I know this chapter left off at kind of a bad point, but I'm working on the next chapter.  I also need to thank Random Wu for her help in getting ideas for disguising Inuyasha and Kenshin.


	5. Night of the Confusion

                                                            The Night of the Confusion

            Sakura was driving The Tank as fast as she could through the traffic.  They had to rescue Kenshin and Inuyasha, and they were hitting every light red.  Sakura finally decided to try a short cut and took a side road, when Yuzumi suddenly shouted, "Stop!  We have to get to a phone!"

            Afraid something else was wrong, Sakura hit the break.  "What!?  What's wrong?"

            "I have to call my boss.  With everything that's been going on I forgot I have to be at work in 15 minutes!"  Yuzumi worried.

            "Kuso, Yuzumi, we don't have time for this!"

            "I know, but if I get fired my parents are gonna kick me out!"

            "You've already been kicked out, Yuzumi."  Sakura impatiently reminded her.

            "Yes, but once I get Kenshin-san back into his world, I can move back in, but if I get fired I'm _permanently_ kicked out!"  Yuzumi wailed.

            Sakura made an 'o' with her lips and speed to the nearest gas station.  The two of them got out of The Tank and want to the pay phone.  Yuzumi put in her thirty-five cents and make the call to her work.  "Hello, this is Yuzumi; I won't be able to come tonight.  I have a family emergency and…………"  She hung up before finishing her sentence.  Yuzumi turned to Sakura and had and expression of I'm-gonna-die-in-seven-days.

            "What happened?  Why do you look like the world just ended?"  Sakura asked.

            "They fired me.  They said that I'd told them I'd be there when I'm supposed to and that since I have failed to show up twice in the three years I've worked there, they have grounds to fire me."

            "You've been working there for three years, and they fired you for missing two days!?"  Sakura disbelievingly asked.  Yuzumi glumly nodded.  "Move aside.  I'm gonna call Mel."  Sakura ordered pushing Yuzumi off to one side.  "Hello, Mel?  Sorry to call so late, but I was wondering……What!?  Uh huh…yes… I don't believe it…wait; I have a friend who needs a job…yes, that's what I was calling about…right…certainly...three o'clock? We'll be there thanks….Good night to you too."  Sakura hung up the phone.  "Good news Yuzumi, Mel will hire you.  We have to be there at three in the afternoon tomorrow so we can start your training."

            "Really, Mel will hire me?"  Yuzumi asked in disbelief.

            "Hm.  Our other part-timer just quit and we really need two people.  Since you need a job…"  Sakura left if hanging.

            "Alright, thanks Sakura.  You're the best, but what are we gonna do with Kenshin-san and Inuyasha?"

            "I know what we can do with them, but I'll tell you tomorrow.  First we have to get them back."

            "Right, what time is it?"  Yuzumi asked as they climbed back into The Tank.

            Sakura looked at the clock on the dash board and answered, "Fifteen minutes after ten o'clock!  We're gonna be late!  Why did they have to hold the meeting so far away?"  Sakura complained.

            "That's easy; to make sure we didn't get there in time."  Yuzumi answered with a proud smile.

            "That was a rhetorical question, Yuzumi."  Sakura mumbled as she turned on the ignition and speed off.

            Half an hour later, the girls arrived at their destination.  They parked The Tank a few feet away from the playground and got out.  They were dressed in off black ninja style outfits that they had bought at a costume store a few years ago.  They grabbed their 'utility' packs, and started toward the marked location.

            "I hope we aren't too late."  Yuzumi whispered.  Sakura nodded and made a shushing motion.  They cautiously approached the drainage pipe and saw what appeared to be a willow tree.  The girls made for it, and since the branches and leaves reached the ground, hid under it.

            From the tree they could clearly see into the pipe.  There was a big fire in the center, and various fan girls dancing around it.  Off to the side were Kenshin and Inuyasha.  They had on their regular clothes, except their swords were missing, and they looked drugged.  There was some kind of incense burning next to them, and Sakura and Yuzumi figured the incense was what was keeping the guys drugged.  On the other side of the fire, Marina was regally standing and watching the fan girls.  She was dressed in mismatched black boots, a skimpy outfit, and had on a black cape.

            "Yuzumi, look at Martina.  Have you seen that outfit before?  I think I have, but I can't quite place it."  Sakura mussed.

            "Sakura, forget Martina.  Look at what's hanging above the fire."  Yuzumi said with a look between fear and disgust.  Sakura looked where Yuzumi directed and gasped.  Above the fire was a monstrous, two toned motif of and ugly, horned, and bearded mask-like face.

            "Now I know I've seen that before.  Yuzumi, pleeeaase tell me that's not what I think it is."  Sakura pleaded.

            "Martina signed her note as _Miko_ Martina, we come here and she's dressed like a certain disliked anime character, and there's a familiar motif hanging above the fire.  Do you really believe this ceremony isn't what you think it is?'  Yuzumi quietly asked.  Sakura looked like she was about to cry.

            Before the girls could continue their conversation, Martina held up her hands and the group of rabid fan girls stopped moving and looked at her.  "Fellow followers of The Monstrous Zoamel Gustav[1], I commend you on a job well done, but before we start the sacrificial ceremony, I must ask Sara to come forward."  Martina resonated.

            "Sacrificial ceremony!?"  Yuzumi squeaked.

            "This could be worse than we feared."  Sakura whispered.

            A girl steeped forward and stood next to Martina.  "That's the girl from the Panda Express.  The one I said smirked at us."  Yuzumi proclaimed.

            "Allow me to introduce Sara."  Marina began.  "She has done well in capturing our beloved bishonen.  It was by her skill that the food they ate at lunch was drugged so that they would be open to our suggestions.  She is also the one who set off the bomb in Mervin's." After this, Martina turned to Sara and held up a necklace.  "You have done very well Sara, and The Monstrous Zoamel Gustav will reward you greatly for your services."  She placed the necklace over Sara's head.  "I give you this necklace as part of your reward.  I will also grant you the honor of starting the sacrificial dance."  Martina finished with a flourish.  The fan girls cheered and Sara walked to the fire, and began an intricate dance around it.  The other Zoamel Gustav worshipers followed suit.

            "Let's go Sakura.  They're distracted by that dance at the moment, so now's a good time."  Yuzumi said as she began to leave the cover of the tree.

            "No, wait."  Sakura said pulling her back.  "I have a better idea."  Sakura whispered her plan to Yuzumi who nodded occasionally.

            "Good idea.  That incense will probably have burnt strong enough to affect the fan girls."  Yuzumi remarked.

            "Make sure to keep your bandana handy.  We may want to use it as a gas mask."  Sakura cautioned.

            The girls set to work stringing duct tape from tree to tree to create a sort of spider web in front of the entrance.  They poured lighter fluid across the ground so that they could light it to make a sort of fire maze.  Next they put fire crackers into pill bottles and left a bit of the fuse hanging out of the lid.  Then, they made ready with the smoke balls.

            "Okay, let's sneak in there and grab Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin."  Sakura rallied.  She and Yuzumi put the bandannas over the lower half of their face, and walked in.  The girls made sure to stay up against the wall and slowly made their way to the guys.  The fan girls were to into their dancing to notice Sakura and Yuzumi.

            Sakura and Yuzumi soon reached Inuyasha and Kenshin.  They tried to shake them and motioned for them to follow, but they were too out of it.  "Kuso!  Sakura what are we gonna do?  They're too heavy for us to carry or drag out of here."  Yuzumi began to panic.

            "Wait, didn't Martina say something about drugging them so that they would be open to suggestions?"  Sakura queried Yuzumi.

            "Yeah, you're right.  I do remember her saying something about that."  Yuzumi turned to Kenshin.  "Kenshin-san, why don't you come with us?"

            Kenshin seemed to think about this suggestion for awhile, "Okay."

            Following Yuzumi's lead, Sakura turned to Inuyasha, "Inuyasha-sama, why don't we leave and go back to Rei's house?"

            Inuyasha nodded and he and Kenshin stood up.  The girls began to quietly lead the guys outside.  They were just passing the fire when, Martina and Sara noticed them.  Luckily for Yuzumi and Sakura, Martina and Sara were so out of it that it took them a few minutes to realize what was happening.  By the time their foggy heads figured things out, the quartet was close to the entrance.  "Stop them!"  Martina hysterically ordered her cultists.  The fan girls immediately dropped what they were doing and began to run to the entrance.

            "Yuzumi, smoke bombs!"  Sakura shouted as she lit one of hers.  Yuzumi nodded and lit hers as well.  The two threw the bombs at the rushing girls which caused them to stop and look at the smoke bombs in confusion.  Yuzumi used the time to pullout her bottle of vinegar.  She opened it and poured it out along the cement floor of the entrance to the drainage pipe.  Sakura, seeing the usefulness of pouring the oily liquid on the floor behind them, did the same with her bottle.

            The smoke was filling the pipe as the quartet ran out of it.  The two girls lit another pair of smoke bombs and threw then behind them so the fan girls would be running blindly into their traps.  Then they lit the fire maze and ran past the duct tape spider webs.  Sakura stopped a few feet away from it, and pulled out her pill bottle grenade.

            "Sakura, what the hell are you doing?"  Yuzumi stopped and shouted at her.  Inuyasha and Kenshin had found something funny and began to laugh.  What it was that made the guys laugh was beyond Sakura and Yuzumi.

            "I want to have a few words with Martina."  Sakura responded.  Before Yuzumi could say anything, Martina and Sara as well as a few of their followers who had been lucky enough to escape their traps, burst through the smoke.  Sakura and Yuzumi could hear the screams and various curses that the rest of the coltish fan girls were yelling.  To keep Martina and her following at bay, Sakura and Yuzumi lit, and threw their pill bottle grenades at them.  The grenades went off and sprayed pieces of the pill bottles like shrapnel.  Several of the girls broke off screaming in pain.

            "Kisama Yokamo[2]!"  Martina and Sara shouted at the two mikos.  "You have ruined our plans!  The Monstrous Zoamel Gustav will send his wrath upon you!"

            "Whatever."  Sakura began in a quiet voice.  "I doubt you'll be able to understand this, but Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin are not your property."

            "They _are mine!  I will sacrifice them to The Monstrous Zoamel Gustav, and when I die, Kenshin and Inuyasha will be waiting for me in Zoamel Gustav's ultimate paradise!"  Martina raved._

            "Kenshin-san is not intended for you!"  Yuzumi heatedly began.  "He belongs to Karou and no one else.  It is my life's goal to make sure no one stands in their way!"  She valiantly declared.

            "Ha, ha, ha.  And you"  Martina mocked pointing to Sakura, "You think Inuyasha is intended for Kagome right?  Well I've got news for you.  Inuyasha might have something to say about that.  He belongs to the great Kikyo-sama.  She had him before that retched Kagome.  I might be willing to let Kikyo have him, but he's in this world now, and he's _mine!"_

            Sakura twitched.  What Martina had said pissed her off.  Sakura didn't get pissed all that often, but when she did, there was hell to pay.  Sakura pissed was about the equivalent of Kenshin going hittokiri.  She took a step forward and looked at Martina.  "Inuyasha-sama is not a thing, he can't be given to anyone, and he can't belong to anyone.  He is a person and has the right to chose who he commits himself to.  Kikyo is dead and Kagome is alive so it makes sense for him to choose Kagome.  Besides, she is the reincarnation of Kikyo.  Either way, neither he nor Kenshin belong in this world.  Here they are fictional characters and so can not get attached to anyone here."  Sakura smirked and pulled a flare out of her pocket.  "Just to show you exactly how I feel about your stupid plans for Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin, I'll give you a gift."  She said in a deadly voice, lit the flare, and threw it right at Martina.  She then turned and ran toward The Tank.

            Yuzumi, after a stunned moment, turned and followed her.  Kenshin and Inuyasha had stopped laughing, shrugged and jogged after the girls.  As they ran Yuzumi thought about what Sakura had done.  She had never seen Sakura mad.  Sure Sakura wasn't in the best of moods when you woke her up, but this was different.  There was a completely different air about her.

            They reached The Tank and got in.  Sara was dragging a blinded Martina after them.  They saw the quartet get into The Tank and they got into one of their cars.  The Tank speed off with Martina and Sara hot on their trail.

            Sakura drove around and tried to loose them, but Sara was good.  She thwarted them whenever she could, and stayed hot on their tail.  Sakura finally pulled off onto a side street, and Sara followed right after them.  Sakura opened a compartment on the dash board and pulled out a hand gun.

            "Sakura!  What the…what are you doing!?"  Yuzumi frantically asked.

            "Relax, I'm just going to shoot out their tires."  She said in her deadly calm voice.

            "What if you miss!?'

            "Then I miss, or would you rather me loose them in the air?  We haven't tested the flight mode of this thing, but I'm sure Genius inc. would appreciate it if we did.  Now seems like a good time."  Sakura proposed.

            "I have a better idea.  Jut put away the gun."  Yuzumi said to try and placate Sakura.  Curios to see what Yuzumi had in mind, Sakura complied.  Once Sakura had put away the gun, Yuzumi pulled out the rubber pancake.  She leaned out the window and threw it.  The pancake hit the windshield of their pursuer's car, and caused them to swerve into a parked car.  Yuzumi caught the pancake as it bounced back.  "See and no one died."

            "I wasn't going to kill anyone."  Sakura indifferently replied as she speed to Rei's.  Kenshin and Inuyasha looked at each other and decided not to comment on Sakura's mood.

  


* * *

[1] Zoamel Gustav is a 'demon' that was made up by the Princess Martina.  Martina worships Zoamel Gustav even though he's her idea and doesn't really exist.  This is referenced from Slayers Next.

[2] Aprox. You fucking bitch

**Author's note:**  This chapter didn't turn out as funny as I'd planned, but I hope you like it.


	6. The Humor

The Day of Humor

            The quartet arrived at Rei's safely, and slept soundly.  Kenshin, Inuyasha, Rei, and Yuzumi had woken up and were enjoying a nice breakfast and discussing the night's events.  Sakura was still asleep and no one felt that it was worth it to wake her up.  "So, how much longer until your sisters are supposed to have that invention ready?"  Rei asked after Yuzumi finished relating their night's experiences.

            "Tomorrow some time."  Yuzumi replied with a sigh.

            "Think you can mange until then?"  Rei asked.

            "I don't know.  The Zoamel Gustav cult thing should be taken care of for now, but I can't be sure."

            "You know, you guys should go to one of those secluded campsite/picnic areas in the mountains.  It's an hour or two's drive, but you should be safe from any avid fans."  Rei suggested.  Sakura walked into the kitchen then and sat down.  "Ohaiyo[1], Sakura."

            "Nng, huh?"  Sakura sleepily replied.

            "She's the worst morning person I've ever seen."  Rei commented.

            "Yeah, just don't try to wake her up.  She goes nuts."  Yuzumi said.

            "I'll remember that.  Do you want breakfast, Sakura?"  Rei asked.

            "Huh?  Oh, uh no."  Sakura replied.

            "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."  Rei philosophically stated.

            "I hate morning people."  Sakura growled.

            "Dude, its past ten o'clock."  Yuzumi declared.

            "It's before noon right?  That makes it morning."  Sakura shrugged.

            "Rei had an idea…."  Yuzumi began.

            "Good for her."  Sakura growled.

            "Anyway," Yuzumi said forcefully, "Rei thought we should go to a campsite thing in the mountains."

            "Sounds good to me, but Rei should come to."

            "What?  Hey this isn't my gig."  Rei argued.

            "It was your suggestion."  Sakura countered.

            "Uh…excuse me I hate to interrupt, but I was wondering about the campsite.  Why would we need to camp out?"  Kenshin asked.

            "We don't need to camp out.  It would just be relaxing."  Sakura tried to explain.

            "Relaxing?"  Inuyasha sarcastically asked with one eyebrow raised.  "I've never found camping to be relaxing."

            "There aren't any demons here Inuyasha, so we don't have to worry about being attacked.  Plus where we would be going, there wouldn't be many people so we won't have fans bothering us."  Yuzumi informed Inuyasha.  Inuyasha didn't believe this for a minute, but he couldn't think of anything to say that would combat what Yuzumi had told him.  As far as he was concerned, the girl Martina was a dark priestess that served some horrible demon.  Why else would she act like such an idiot?  Kenshin had decided that given the amount of unusual technology and stuff in this world camping might just be relaxing.  Sleeping in Sakura's tank wasn't all that uncomfortable, and he felt that's what they'd be sleeping in again.

            "Camping isn't a bad idea.  We can all load in the Tank and have a nice barbeque.  And, since Rei so kindly suggested it, she can come along too."  Sakura said with a smile.

            "Alright I'll go, but on one condition."  Rei countered.

            "And what's that?"  Yuzumi asked.

            "We are only allowed to listen to X music and can only discus X or shonen-ai[2] related stuff."  Rei said.

            "No way!  I will not participate in anything that has to do with shonen-ai, and I don't know much about X.  Sakura, she is not coming."  Yuzumi disgustedly shuddered.

            "Actually Yuzumi, she's coming.  And, we'll adhere to her conditions."  Sakura said with a pointed look at Yuzumi.

            Kenshin and Inuyasha looked at each other.  They hadn't figured out what 'X' was yet, but they could figure out the indications of shonen-ai and decided to not engage in a conversation about such things.  They also began to wonder about Rei.

            "Of course you don't mind.  You're a shonen-ai fan and a slight X fan."  Yuzumi said with a hint of frustration.

            "She's coming, end of discussion.  If you don't like what we talk about then you don't have to listen or participate."  Sakura said with a hint of steal in her voice.  Yuzumi decided to give up for now.  She could always talk to Kenshin or Inuyasha.  She was sure they wouldn't want anything to do with a shonen-ai discussion.

            "Well, since you are going to meet my conditions, I'll go."  Rei complied.  Kenshin and Inuyasha weren't sure what to think of the situation.

            "Okay, let's load up in The Tank."  Sakura announced as she began to head out the door.

            "Hey I haven't finished breakfast yet!"  Yuzumi complained.

            "To bad, let's go."  Sakura unsympathetically ordered.

            "Dammit.  She can be a bitch in the morning."  Yuzumi growled under her breath.

            "When does the morningness wear off?"  Rei inquisitively asked.

            "About noon.  She can be reasonable then."  Yuzumi sighed.

            Kenshin, Inuyasha, Rei, and Yuzumi followed Sakura out to the Tank and the headed out.

            An hour later they were driving through the forested mountain roads.  The drive was quite pretty and Sakura seemed to loose her 'morningness'.  They listened to the X CDs in conssesion and everyone was enjoying themselves.  They also discovered another feature of Sakura's Tank.  Even though there were five people in the front of The Tank, there seemed to be plenty of room and no one was squished.  Once they were in the mountains, it wasn't too long before they discovered a campsite to their liking.

            "Alright everyone out of The Tank."  Sakura cheerfully said.

            Everyone got out and Sakura popped open the back of The Tank.  "Is there a grill handy?"  She asked.

            "Yeah, over there."  Yuzumi pointed.

            "Good then I don't have to dig out the one in here."  Sakura announced.  Everyone looked at each other, then into the back of the Tank.  Sakura had lifted up the bottom of the truck bed and underneath was a huge compartment filled with various camping equipment.  "Here start carrying this stuff over to the picnic table."  Sakura ordered as she began unloading.

            In thirty minutes the group had everything one could want for a picnic.  They had a volley ball net set up, Frisbees, water balloons, and food.  "Hey let's start grilling some hamburgers."  Yuzumi excitedly suggested.

            "Alright, I'll help."  Sakura volunteered, "Since you are a horrible cook."  She added with a smirk.

            "Shut up, just shut up."  Yuzumi growled.

            "Count me out.  I don't like grilling stuff."  Rei complacently declined.  And instead, picked up a Frisbee.  "Inuyasha, fetch."  She said as she threw it.  Surprisingly enough Inuyasha chased it and caught it.  He also brought it back.  Rei threw it again and again he caught it and brought it back.

            "That's sad."  Sakura said.

            "Yeah, but he is a dog."  Yuzumi comforted.  She and Sakura put coals in the grill and light them.  They waited for the coals to start and placed some hamburger patties on the grill.  The only problem with this occurred when as Yuzumi put the paper wrapped patty on the grill, she caught the paper on fire.

            "Ahhh.  The paper's on fire."  She noted.

            "Uhhh. You might want to put that out before…."  Sakura started when the grill suddenly flared up.

            Rei and Kenshin were taking turns throwing the Frisbee for Inuyasha, who couldn't understand why he found this game so amusing, when they heard a large roaring sound coming from the direction of the grill.  The three of them stopped what they were doing, Inuyasha still had the Frisbee in his mouth, and looked over at Sakura and Yuzumi.  What they saw almost made them laugh.  A slightly charred Sakura and more so charred Yuzumi saying that they had everything under control and that the burgers would be done soon.

            "Uh…"  Kenshin began, but Rei shook her head.

            "Don't ask.  It's best not to."  Rei advised both Kenshin and Inuyasha.

            Yuzumi and Sakura managed to get the lunch ready without further trouble.  They had potato salad, various chips with dip, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pickles, goldfish, and deviled eggs.  They were happily enjoying their meal when they heard some yappy dog barking.  At first, the group ignored it, but when some nearby shrubs started shaking and Inuyasha said that he could smell a bear, the group took interest in the situation.  The sight that came out of the bushes was actually rather amusing.  A six inch high, Chuaua was chasing a bear cub that was at least seven times the dog's size.  The little cub was running for its life, and the little dog was right on it's tail.  The dog and bear were about half way across the gang's camping area when, the Chuaua stopped and looked at them.  It sniffed at the air for a second, then began to growl.

            The dog began to bark and charged at the Sakura and co.  The bear cub, seeing its chance, ran up a tree and hid.  "I wonder if the thing wants table scraps."  Rei, calmly guessed.

            "Uhhh, I don't think that's what it wants.  If it wanted table scraps, then it would be wagging its tail and looking cute.  The stupid thing looks more like it's trying to attack us."  Sakura second-guessed.

            "Hey Inuyasha, you're a dog demon right?"  Yuzumi asked.  "So, why don't you take care of this?"

            Inuyasha looked at her for a second, then shrugged his shoulders.  It was only a dog so he wouldn't have any trouble removing it from the campsite.  He got up and walked toward the dog.  The little chuaua, thinking it was the biggest dog in the world, ran straight for Inuyasha and grabbed onto his leg, and wouldn't let go.  "Oi, get off me you stupid thing!"  Inuyasha shouted as he began to shake his leg to kick the dog off.  The dog, however, wouldn't let go.

            After a few minutes Inuyasha began to tire of trying to nicely get the dog off.  "Keh, enough of this."  He said as he began to draw the Tetsaiga.  The rest of the group thought about stopping him, but the sight of Inuyasha having to draw his ace in the hole to get a 6-inch dog off him was rather funny.  Inuyasha swung the Tetsaiga at the dog and the dog let go.

            Since he was trying to avoid cutting his own leg off, Inuyasha hadn't gotten a very good aim at the chuaua.  This time he swung the Tetsaiga to try killing the dog, but the dog had other ideas.  It jumped up and caught hold of the Tetsaiga in mid swing.  But, since the Tetsaiga had nothing for the dog to grip, and since Inuyasha was swinging the sword so hard, the little dog ended up loosing his grip and flying several feet in the air.  No one saw where the dog landed; they did hear it bark and run off.

            "Keh."  Inuyasha said.

            "Well that was amusing."  Rei smiled.

            Inuyasha turned to head back to the table, but as he was ready to take a step forward, he saw another little dog in his way.  This was another chuaua, but where the other one had been male, this one was female.  It was sitting on the ground and looking at Inuyasha with those cut puppy eyes that all dogs have the ability to make.  The little thing was also making a cute squeaking noise.

            "Oh how cute.  It looks like Inuyasha has picked up a new fan girl."  Rei giggled.  Kenshin and Yuzumi couldn't help but giggle as well, and after a few minutes, the three of them broke out into full laughter.  Sakura couldn't decide whether to laugh, cry, or get mad at the little dog.  Inuyasha just glared at all of them, looked at the little dog, and pointed in the direction it had come from, "Get out of here".  The little dog made another pathetic whine.  "Go on, go away!"  Inuyasha sternly shouted at the dog.  The poor thing tucked her tail beneath her and ran off whining pathetically.

            "Oh, the poor thing.  Inuyasha, I think you broke the little dog's heart."  Rei sadly shook her head.  Inuyasha just glared at her and Yuzumi continued laughing.  Kenshin had gotten control of his laughter and was feeling a bit sorry for the dog.  Sakura still wasn't sure how she should react.  She kinda felt sorry for the dog, but then again Inuyasha did have Kagome.

            Lunch resumed, and they finished the clean up without any more disturbances.  Yuzumi, Sakura, Kenshin, and Inuyasha had decided to take a walk and Rei insisted that she would stay and watch the campsite.  So, the four of them took off into the surrounding forest, which didn't really impress either Kenshin or Inuyasha because the forests where Yuzumi and Sakura live aren't really what one would call a forest, and Rei raided Sakura's Tank to find a DVD player.  Rei finally found the DVD player and pulled out the X DVDs that she'd smuggled into the Tank.  She sat on the picnic bench and contentedly began to watch her DVDs.

            Sakura and co were busy walking along one of the trails and discussing the local wild life.  Kenshin was pointing out all of the plants that he didn't recognize, and kept asking the names of them.  Neither Sakura nor Yuzumi could tell him many of the names since neither of them were that interested in plants.  Inuyasha, being true to his doggy self, was sniffing just about everything in site.  Yuzumi kept making whispered cracks to Yuzumi about Inuyasha and how she wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly began to 'mark his territory'.  Sakura would just smack her when she said this.  Several minutes later, they decided to head back to the camp.  They felt bad about leaving Rei alone too long, well everyone except Sakura.  She knew that Rei would have hunted down the DVD player, and that Rei had probably stashed some X stuff in the Tank.

            When they got back to the campsite, they found Rei contentedly reading, well looking at, a Be-Boy[3] magazine.  "Oi, Rei, you might want to put that away now.  I know Yuzumi would flip if she saw the contents, and I don't think Inuyasha-sama or Kenshin would appreciate it either."  Sakura whispered to Rei.

            "Hmmm, I guess your right, I'll put it away."  Rei agreed as she put the magazine in the Tank.  There was still an hour before Yuzumi and Sakura would have to leave to get to Mel's, so everyone decided to play volleyball.  Rei figured the best way to team up would be girls against guys.  Since Inuyasha was half demon and Kenshin was an ex-hitokirri, she figured it would be fairer to pair the two of them together.  With this settled, they decided that ladies could go first, and guys could choose sides.

            Sakura explained to the guys that the way you played volleyball was by using your hands to hit the ball over the net and try to keep your opponents from hitting it back to you.  Sakura and Yuzumi did a little demonstration for them, and got the game underway.  The game was going pretty well until Yuzumi distracted Inuyasha and Inuyasha got hit in the head with the ball.  After that, he hit the ball just a little too hard and sent it flying.  He hit it hard enough that no one could find it, and thus ended the game.

            Sakura looked at a clock and said, "Well we needed to end the game anyway.  Yuzumi and I have to get to Mel's so Yuzumi can start training for a job.  We'll take you back home and head to work."

            "Okay, but what are you going to do about the guys?"  Rei asked.

            "There's a room where I work that we could keep them in."  Sakura answered.

            "Oh, okay, let's go then."  Rei said as Sakura packed everything up.

            They dropped off Rei, and headed to Mel's Coffee and Smoothie Bar.

  


* * *

[1] Good morning

[2] 'Shonen' means 'boy' and 'ai' means 'love'.  Shonen-ai is used to refer to a romantic story between two guys.  Gravitation and FAKE are two examples of this.

[3] Be-Boy is a yaoi magazine in Japan.

**Author's Note:**  Sorry for the resllllly long wait, but I've had to deal with work and school, so I've been very busy.  I took my finals and have close to a month before my next term, so I'll be able to work on this some more.  I'll update at least once every week.  Twice if I can get the time around my work schedule.  Hope you enjoyed this chapter and there's some more funny stuff to come in the next one.  ;)


	7. The work place

            Sakura drove Yuzumi, Inuyasha, and Kenshin to Mel's Coffee and Smoothie Bar.  She pulled the Tank into the parking lot and opened the door to get out.  "Inuyasha-sama, Kenshin, stay in the Tank for a little while.  I have to talk to my boss, then we can let you come into the store."

            Inuyasha and Kenshin nodded and Yuzumi and Sakura got out of the Tank.  They walked across the small parking lot and into the store.  The store wasn't much bigger than a Starbucks, and it was set up in a similar fashion.

            "Oh, hi Sakura.  This must be Yuzumi right?"  A dark haired lady asked from behind the counter.

            "Yup, Yuzumi, this is Mel.  She'll be your boss."  Sakura introduced.

            "Hi."  Yuzumi said.

            "I'll leave Sakura too train you.  Make sure you fill out this application and clock in."  Mel said as she took off her apron, gathered her stuff and left.

            "We have the whole store to our selves?"  Yuzumi asked.

            "Yup.  We only have to worry about customers coming in, but it's the middle of the afternoon, so we won't get too many people.  The mornings suck.  Tips are good, though."  Sakura answered.

            "What's so bad about the mornings?"

            "Picture it.  You get here at 5:30 am because the shop opens at 6:00 am.  You have to start brewing the house coffee, and setting stuff up for customers, and at 5:45 you have a group of people who work coming to the door looking for their morning coffee fix.  Then when you finally do get the store open, you have about 15 orders to fill, and all of them are screaming that you aren't making the coffee fast enough.  After the first hour though, things tend to calm down."

            "Ahhh.  So, why do you have two people working at once?"

            "We don't.  We work one person per shift.  Or, one person all day.  It's actually pretty easy, once you get the hang of how to work the equipment.  Let's get Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin out of the car.  We can have them stay in here."  Sakura said as she showed Yuzumi a small room at the back of the shop.  In the room was a desk, some folding chairs, and boxes of coffee supplies.

            "Looks okay to me.  Let's go get them."  Yuzumi said as she headed out the door.  They took a quick glace around the parking lot, but there wasn't anyone out there.  They opened the doors to the Tank and hurried them into the store.  They then showed them to the storage room and told them they had to stay there.

            "Oh, Yuzumi, we get one free smoothie and two coffees, or tea, for each shift.  Would you like some tea, Inuyasha-sama?"  Sakura asked.

            "Sure."  Inuyasha simply replied.

            "How about you, Kenshin-san?"  Yuzumi inquired of Kenshin.

            "Hai."  Kenshin replied.

            "Kay, I'll show you how to make tea, Yuzumi."  Sakura said with a smile.

            "I know how to make tea."  Yuzumi blandly remarked.

            "True, but there's a special way we serve it.  I'll show you how to clock in too."  Sakura said as she led Yuzumi to the kitchen area of the shop.  She pulled down two cards.  On one, she wrote Yuzumi's name, and the other she stuck in a big clunky machine.  Then she firmly pressed a button on the machine, and pulled the card out.  "Your turn.  It's so easy even you can't screw it up."

            "Just what's that supposed to mean?"  Yuzumi heatedly asked as she put her card in and punched it.

            "Okay, now for the tea."  Sakura said as she led Yuzumi to the front where all of the stuff was kept.  She pulled out some teapots that looked a lot like some modern metal versions of Japanese ceremonial teakettles.  "To get hot water you press this button on the coffee machine."  She explained as she demonstrated.  "Next pick out a tea flavor and put it in the top of the kettle.  There's a screen so that it won't get in the water when you pour it out the spout.  We use these cups to serve it."  Sakura picked up two large cups that also looked like they belonged to a ceremonial Japanese tea set.  "Lastly, we put them on a little tray and serve it."  She smiled.  Yuzumi followed Sakura's instructions and got some tea made for Kenshin.  The two of them brought the tea to the boys and stayed in the room for a few minutes.

            "Isn't there anything to do in here?"  Inuyasha plaintively asked.

                        "I keep a Go board around here, if you want to play that."  Sakura suggested.  Inuyasha and Kenshin looked at her as if they expected her to explain how to play Go.  "Uhhh…..you guys don't know how to play Go do you?"  Sakura asked, and both guys shook their heads.  "Okay, do you know how to play chess?"  Again the response was no.  "So do you know how to play any card games?"  This time they nodded yes.  "Then here."  Sakura said as she handed them a deck of cards.  "Alright, Yuzumi, time to start your training.  Inuyasha-sama, Kenshin if you need anything, just poke your head out the door and we'll come." 

            "What do I have to learn how to do?"  Yuzumi reluctantly asked.  They guys had decided on playing poker since it was about the only game the two of them knew, and they were using some coffee beans as betting chips.  Yuzumi wanted to watch them play, not start training.

            "First, you do the dishes."  Sakura said as she handed Yuzumi a tub of the customer's dishes.

            "What?!  Why me?"  Yuzumi wailed.

            "Because you are the new person.  I had to do the dishes when I was being trained.  Think of it like this, you're the white belt and I'm the black belt.  You get the menial tasks to do until you become a black belt and have to train your own white belt."  Sakura said as a way to console her friend.  Once you're done with the dishes, then you can learn to make coffee.  Oh, there is a special way we do the dishes.  I'll show you."  Sakura led Yuzumi to the kitchen area of the store and showed her three sinks.  "The first one is to wash them in, the second one has bleach in the water.  You have to soak them in that for a few minutes.  The last one is for the rinse.  Make sure to leave the dishes in there for at least 5 minutes.  We don't want the customers getting sick from the bleach.  Then you dry them, or if there's room, and we aren't low on dishes, you can put them on the rack above the sinks.  We aren't low on dishes at the moment, so you can put them on the rack without having to dry them.  Have fun now."  Sakura encouraged, as she weren't back to the front of the store.

            "I'll get you for this Sakura."  Yuzumi grumbled.  There weren't really that many dished to do, so she had them done in a few minutes.  She walked out of the kitchen and joined Sakura.  "Now what?"  She peevishly asked.

            "Now's the really fun part.  I've been burned making the coffee, so be careful." Sakura warned.  "Here is a list of the ingredients for making the various drinks.  First, you have to learn how to make the house coffee.  That's pretty easy because you make it like you would regular coffee."  Sakura explained as she showed Yuzumi where the coffee grounds were and were the coffee pot was.  "Not many people ask for house coffee.  They usually ask for a cappuccino, macchiato, espresso, or something."

            "This sounds just like Starbucks."  Yuzumi commented.

            "That's because despite what Starbucks wants us to think; these drinks weren't invented by them."  Sakura said as she showed Yuzumi how to make an espresso.  "You have to serve this immediately or it gets biter.  Don't let it sit."

            "Okay, can I try?"  Yuzumi asked.

Sakura nodded and cautioned her that it wasn't as easy as it seemed.  "The trick is in how well you pack the coffee grounds.  Pack them as tight as possible."

"Will do."  Yuzumi confidently said as she tried.  Her first try resulted in an espresso cup full of water.  It took her five tries to get a decent espresso.  "Ugh, this is a bit harder than I thought."

"Yup, don't worry thought.  Everyone has trouble on there first week.  Next, I'll show you how to steam the milk.  After that, I'll show you how to make the various drinks."  After about another half hour of working on making drinks, and after Yuzumi had burned herself while trying to steam the milk, Sakura announced a break.

"Grrrrrr, my hand still hurts!"  Yuzumi whined.

"You do realize that it does have a big, bold, black arrow indicating which way is off, don't you?"  Sakura innocently asked.

"Shut up."  Yuzumi growled as they walked into the back room where they'd left Kenshin and Inuyasha.  The two of them were still playing poker, and it looked like they'd really gotten into it.  "Hey you guys want to take a break from that?"  Yuzumi asked.

"No.  He's ahead of me by three beans."  Inuyasha grudgingly announced.

"We're having fun, that we are."  Kenshin smiled.

"Okay, you guys continue with your game then."  Yuzumi said.

"Do you guys need more tea, or want something to eat?"  Sakura asked.

"No."  Inuyasha and Kenshin said in unison.

"Ahhhh, it's almost time to close."  Sakura sighed.

"Almost time to close?  And what's with the sigh?  Do you like it here that much?"  Yuzumi fired off at Sakura.

"We close at 5 because it's kinda pointless to keep open since no one comes in after then.  I sighed not because I like it here, but because we have 15 minutes until 5 o'clock so we'll end up having a small rush.  For some reason we always get a rush around now; but if we keep the store open 'till 6, no one comes in."  No sooner had Sakura said this, then a little bell chimed.

"A bell?"  Yuzumi looked a little puzzled.

"Yeah, it's our indicator that we have a customer.  C'mon out front."  Sakura said as she waved Yuzumi out of the storage room.  When they got to the front there wasn't just one customer, there were about 15.

"Ummmm, exactly what am I supposed to do?"  Yuzumi nervously asked.

"Do what I say and don't ask questions."  Sakura said in a very business like tone.  Things went well for the first three customers, but Sakura told Yuzumi to take the fourth customer, and things went into chaos.

"I would like a caramel macchiato."  The customer requested.

"O..okay."  Yuzumi nervously said.  "Sakura, how do I make a macchiato again?"  She franticly asked Sakura.

"Look at the sheet."  Sakura instructed.

"Oh yeah."  Yuzumi looked at the little recipe sheet and started the espresso machine.  She made a decent espresso, but when she went to steam the milk she got all mixed up, and turned the knob the wrong way.  She ended up getting scalding milk on herself as well as on Sakura.

"Yuzumi dump that out and refill it.  I'll take care of the order."  Sakura said.

"Okay."  Yuzumi sullenly replied.  After Sakura had made the caramel macchiato, she showed Yuzumi how to use the register.  Yuzumi got the hang of that fast, so Sakura made the drinks, while Yuzumi rung them up.  All was going well until the last customer.  That's when Inuyasha had lost all of his coffee beans to Kenshin.

"Arrrrrrrrggggg!"  Inuyasha growled.  "How could I loose?  I had the perfect hand!"

"What's that?"  The customer asked.  Things might not have been so bad except the customer was a girl that Sakura knew from her church.  This girl was also a huge Inuyasha fan.  Luckily, Miroku was the character she wanted to date, but still Sakura thought it might not be a good idea if she found Inuyasha and Kenshin in real life.

"Oh that's just my cousin.  He's probably playing some card game on one of those hand held poker things.  He absolutely hates to loose."  Sakura lied.  Things might have been okay, except there was a loud bang that came from the storage room.  Sakura winced at the noise.

"Inuyasha-donno, you need to calm down that you do."  Kenshin said a little too loudly.

"Inuyasha?"  The girl inquired with one eyebrow arched.  "Dose your cousin like Inuyasha too?"

"Um yeah.  He often coseplays as Inuyasha."  Sakura again lied.

"And who was the other person I heard?"  The girl, who was becoming too curious for Sakura's comfort, asked.

"He's a friend of mine."  Yuzumi answered.  "He and Sakura's cousin are good friends."

"You know, I think I'd like to meet this Inuyasha fan."  The girl said as she took headed for the room the noise had come from.

"Noooo, wait!"  Yuzumi and Sakura yelled as they tried to stop her.  The girl had just enough of a head start that she evaded Sakura and Yuzumi, and got to the door.  She opened it and gasped.  When Yuzumi and Sakura looked in they saw Kenshin holding Inuyasha from the back and trying to keep him from destroying anything.  Inuyasha was struggling for all he was worth.  What had made the bang was the table.  It, along with several chairs, had been over turned.  The girl looked wide-eyed at the scene before her, and promptly fainted.  Inuyasha stopped struggling, and Kenshin let him go.

"Is she okay?"  Kenshin asked.

"Yeah, it looks like she just fainted.  Yuzumi, get some water and take care of her.  I'm gonna close the shop before anything else can happen."  Sakura said as she headed to the shop door and locked it.  Yuzumi and Kenshin had the girl propped up while Inuyasha was dabbing her face with a towel.  Sakura continued to move around the shop and cleaned things up.

"Yuzumi, why don't you take Inuyasha-sama and Kenshin to the Tank?  This way if she wakes up we can tell her she was just seeing things."  Sakura suggested.

"Good idea."  She led Inuyasha and Kenshin out to the Tank and came back to help Sakura.  They had just finished cleaning, and were splitting the tip when the girl came to.

"Uh…what happened?  Where are Inuyasha and Kenshin?"  She disappointedly asked.

"What do you mean?  I think you might be coming down with a cold or something.  You should go home and take some vitamin C."  Sakura prescribed.

"But I was sure I saw Inuyasha and Kenshin."  She insisted.

"We wish."  Yuzumi commented.

"Hey, I'll clock you out Yuzumi, then we should head back to Rei's."  Sakura said.

"Okay.  Are you going to be alright?"  She asked the girl.

"Yeah, too bad I didn't really see Inuyasha.  Oh well, maybe you're right and I am getting sick.  Oh I hope not."

"I'll let you out."  Yuzumi said as she led the girl to the door.

"Thanks, I'll probably see you again.  Bye."  The girl waved as she left.

"Bye.  We ready to go?  I don't want anything else to happen."  Yuzumi asked Sakura.

"Yup, let's get to Rei's before we have any other problems."  Sakura said as she led the way out the door.

**_Author's Note:_**_  Well that's the next chapter.  It's not as funny as I had intended, but I got a bit busy with Christmas, and I couldn't think of anything really funny to have happen.  It's a bit late, but Merry Christmas, and have a good New Year's everyone.  ^^_


	8. End?

Yuzumi woke up before everyone else, and decided to pop some Hot Pocket breakfast things in the microwave to serve as breakfast for everyone.  "Ha, I might not be able too cook all that well, but I can cook a few Hot Pockets."  She gloated as she watched the breakfast through the microwave door.

            Rei walked in and saw Yuzumi using the microwave.  "What'cha up to"  She asked.

            "I'm cooking up some Hot Pockets."  She smiled.

            "Sounds good to me."  Rei said as Inuyasha and Kenshin walked in.

            "Good morning.  I see Sakura is once more the last one to arrive."  Rei greeted the guys.

            "She seems to be the last one to wake up." Kenshin agreed.

            "Meh"  Inuyasha shrugged.

            "Well today is the day we can get the device from Genius inc."  Yuzumi commented.  "I wonder when we should go and check on their progress."  Yuzumi mussed.

            "Now."  Inuyasha impatiently demanded.

            "Do you think it'll be ready?"  Kenshin asked Yuzumi.

            "Yeah, they are pretty smart.  Genius inc should have come up with something by now."  Yuzumi assured the two.  The Hot Pockets finished cooking, and Yuzumi took them out and served everyone.

            "Shouldn't we wait for Sakura?"  Rei asked.

            "Nah, it's only 9:45 am.  She won't be awake for at least another fifteen minutes."  Yuzumi answered as she dug into her breakfast.

            "Oh, well then itadakimasu."  Rei said as she too began to eat.

            Kenshin and Inuyasha watched the two for awhile, then picked up their own Hot Pockets and began to eat them.  "This is great!"   Inuyasha joyously exclaimed as he practically inhaled the Hot Pocket.

            "It's different, but not bad."  Kenshin said as he took a second bit from his Hot Pocket.  The quartet sat around and talked while they ate their breakfast.

            About half an hour later, Sakura sleepily lumbered into the kitchen.  "Mornin."  She sleepily slurred.

            "Good morning."  The others chimed in.

            Sakura glared at them for awhile, "I hate morning people."

            "Haven't you said that one before?" Rei teased.

            "Shut up."  Sakura growled as she raided the fridge.

            "Sakura, it's close to eleven o'clock, why don't we go see if our sisters have the thingamagiger done yet."  Yuzumi proposed.

            "Sounds good to me."  Sakura said as she sat down and began eating some yogurt that she had pulled out of the fridge.

            "Okay, we can leave as soon as you finish your breakfast."  Yuzumi smiled.

            An hour later, the gang pulled into the lot where the Genius inc headquarters was located.  The entered into the building, and Kenshin and Inuyasha were still perplexed about the concept of a place having a larger inside than outside.  Sakura walked up to the number dispenser and pulled out a number.  Number 13.  "Well, we are number thirteen again."  Sakura showed the ticket to Yuzumi.

            "I still don't know if that's a good thing or not."  She remarked.

            The quartet once again found a place to sit, and waited.  It wasn't long before a voice on the loud speaker said, "Will number thirteen please proceed up the stairs to our office?"

            "Well here we go again."  Yuzumi commented.  The group walked up the stairs and opened the door to the familiar office.

            "Oh, it's you guys."  Tanbou unenthusiastically said.

            "Here."  Űmëa pointedly said.  "We haven't tested it yet, but you stand in front of a TV, move the switch to either 'here' or 'there', then you press the big red button."

            "Make sure to destroy that when you are done with it.  Now get out of here."  Tanbou harshly commanded.

            "Thank you ever so much."  Sakura ungratefully responded, as the group left the room.

            "So will the thing work?"  Inuyasha asked.

            "We'll find out soon enough.  My parents should be out at the moment, so we should be able to use the TV at my house."  Sakura proposed.

            "Okay."  The others agreed.

            Fifteen minutes later, the group pulled into Sakura's drive, and entered her house.  They walked into her living room, and stood in front of the TV.  'So we point this at the TV"  Yuzumi began as she and the others faced the TV.  "Then we move the switch, too 'there', right?"  She inquired.

            "I guess so.  We are already 'here' aren't we?"  Sakura replied.

            "Well here goes." Yuzumi said as she pressed the button.

            At first nothing happened, then suddenly a bright flash came out of the screen.  When everyone's vision cleared, they were standing in the courtyard of a strangely familiar dojo…..

            "Ororororororororo……..?"

**END**

**Author's Note: **_This is really cruel, but I've lost my motivation to continue this fic.  You might have noticed the quality of the chapters got rushed as the story went along.  I had originally planned to do two more arcs after this one, but I really don't feel like working on this anymore.  So this is it, this is all she wrote (quite literally).  The only thing that's going to make me write the next arc, is if at least five people review and specifically ask for it to be continued.  Otherwise this is all you get.  I don't want to do this anymore, but if people ask for it, I'll be nice and write more (but then you guys owe me).  Sorry, I know this is cruel, and some of you might flame me for this, but too bad.  I don't feel like continuing this, and I'm the author, so what I say goes.  Nya :P_


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